As she is identified as ' countess ', her death presumably occurred after her husband's accession to the earldom.
Surely if he succeeds he suceeds to the earldom and barony, all the lot?
If you separate the dukedoms and the earldoms from those old families will they continue if one loses the male line descent?
The life peerage would merge in the hereditary earldom.
An earldom may come to him in due course.
Some of the very large tracts of land were lordships or earldoms.
If the fief were sold, the right passed to the purchaser, even in the case of an earldom.
But they did not have to give up the title of an earldom, marquisate or dukedom to which they might have succeeded.
