Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland and Earl Talbot (1784) in the Peerage of Great Britain. Shrewsbury and Waterford are the oldest earldoms in their peerages held by someone with no higher title, and as such the Earl of Shrewsbury is sometimes described as the premier earl of England and Ireland.

Earl Talbot is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. This branch of the Talbot family descends from the Hon. Sir Gilbert Talbot, third son of John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury. His great-great-great-grandson, the Right Reverend William Talbot, was Bishop of Oxford, of Salisbury and of Durham. His eldest son Charles Talbot was a prominent lawyer and politician. In 1733, he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Lord Talbot, Baron of Hensol, in the County of Glamorgan, and then served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1733 to 1737.