Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery KB, Personal Computer, styled The Honourable from 1621 until 1628 and then Lord Vaughan until 1634, was a Welsh soldier, peer and politician.
Background
He was the only surviving son of John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery and his first wife Margaret Meyrick, daughter of Sir Gilly Meyrick. Vaughan entered the English House of Commons in 1624, sitting for Carmarthenshire, the constituency his father had previously represented, until 1629.
Career
In his youth he travelled abroad and went to Madrid in 1622. On the coronation of King Charles I of England in 1626, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath (KB). Vaughan was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Carmarthenshire in 1630, Custos Rotulorum of Pembrokeshire in 1643 and Custos Rotulorum of Cardiganshire a year later, which offices he held until the English Interregnum in 1646.
A royalist, he succeeded his father as earl in 1634 and joined the Irish House of Lords.
Vaughan was called to the bar by Gray"s Inn in 1637 and on the outbreak of the civil war in 1642, he received command of a royal army. Fighting in Pembrokeshire in March 1643, he was defeated by Rowland Laugharne and resigned his command, facing impeachment.
On 25 October, he was created Baron Vaughan, of Emlyn, in the County of Carmarthen, which entitled him also to a seat in the English House of Lords. In 1644, Vaughan was accused of cowardice and was ordered to pay a fine of £4,500.
After advocacy by Laugharne and following correspondence with Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex in 1646, he was exempted from it and subsequently supported the Parliamentarians to suppress royalist risings.
With the restoration in 1660, Vaughan resumed his first post as custos rotulorum. He was nominated Lord President of Wales and additionally was given several Welsh lord lieutenantcies. In 1661, Vaughan was sworn off the Privy Council of England and in 1670, he became again Custos Rotulorum of Cardiganshire.
Vaughan was lord president and Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan until 1672, when after charges of abuse against his servants, Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort assumed both offices.
A year later the duke succeeded Vaughan also as Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey as well as Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire. He held however both positions as custos rotulorum until his death in 1686.
Vaughan was married thrice, firstly to Bridget Lloyd, daughter of Thomas Lloyd.