The Knights of the Royal Oak was an intended order of knighthood. It was proposed in 1660 at the time of the restoration of Charles II of England

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

, known as the English Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

. It was to be a reward to those Englishmen who faithfully & actively supported him during his exile in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The knights so created were to be called "Knights of the Royal Oak", and bestowed with a silver medal, on a ribbon, depicting the king in the Royal oak tree., a reference to the oak tree at Boscobel House

Boscobel House

Boscobel House is a building in the parish of Boscobel in Shropshire, as is clear from all Ordnance Survey maps, although the boundary of the property is contiguous with the county's boundary with Staffordshire, and it has a Stafford post code. It is near the city of Wolverhampton...

, then called the "Oak of Boscobel", in which King Charles II hid to escape

Escape of Charles II

The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...

 the Roundheads after the Battle of Worcester

Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...

 in 1651. Men were selected from all the counties of England and Wales, with the number from each county being in proportion to the population. William Dugdale

William Dugdale

Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...

 in 1681 noted 687 names, each with a valuation of their estate in pounds per year. The estates of 18 men were valued at more than £3,000 per year. The names of the recipients are also listed in the baronetages, published in five volumes, 1741.

The award was abandoned before being formally established, out of concerns that it might perpetuate dissension and keep alive the differences between Parliament and the King, which were better left forgotten:

"...it being wisely judged," says Noble, in his 'Memoirs of the Cromwell family', "that the order was calculated only to keep awake animosities, which it was the part of wisdom to lull to sleep." Henry Cromwell, a zealous royalist

Royalist

A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...

 and first cousin once removed to Oliver Cromwell, was one of the men proposed to be one of these knights. He had by then changed his name to Williams,

Instead of individual honours being made, the 29th of May, Charles' birthday, was set aside as "Royal Oak Day," and "Oak Apple Day" to commemorate the Restoration. Celebration was made by the wearing of oak leaves in the hat; oak apples gilded, with a few leaves surrounding them, were sold in the streets of London. The statue of Charles I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

, at Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...

, was also decorated with branches of oak on this day. The holiday is still celebrated today as Oak Apple Day

Oak Apple Day

Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day was a holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy, in May 1660...

.

Bedfordshire

• Sir William Beecher £1,600
• William Boteler £1,000
• Sir George Blundell £1,200
• Francis Crawley £1,000
• Sir John Duncombe £1,000
• Samuel Ironsides £600
• William Spencer £1,000
• Richard Taylor £1,000

Berkshire

• John Blagrave £2,000
• Hungerford Dunch
  Hungerford Dunch
  Hungerford Dunch was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660 and from 1679 to 1680.-Biography:In 1660, Dunch was elected MP for both Wallingford and Cricklade for the Convention Parliament...
  
   £2,000
• John Elwayes £700
• Edmund Fettiplace
• John Freeman £800
• Richard Garrard £1,000
• Edward Keyte £1,000
• Sir St. John Moore £1,500
• Colonel Richard Nevil £1,500
• George Purefoy £3,000
• Sir Compton Read, Bart
  Reade Baronets
  There have been two Baronetcies created for members of the Reade family, both in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2008....
  
    £2000
• John Whitwicke £800

Buckinghamshire

• — Abraham, of Wingrave £600
• Thomas Catesby £800
• — Claver, of Woovinge £600
• Captain Peter Dayrell £600
• Charles Dormer £3,000
• William Dormer £1,000
• Francis Ingolsby £1,000
• — Wells, of Lillingston £600

Cambridgeshire

• Robert Balam of Beaufort Hall £600
• Sir Thomas Bennet Wisbech
  Wisbech
  Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
  
   £2,000
• Thomas Chicheley
  Thomas Chicheley
  Sir Thomas Chicheley was a politician in England in the seventeenth century who fell from favour in the reign of James II. His name is sometimes spelt as Chichele....
  
   £2,000
• William Colvile of Newton £1000
• Thomas Ducket £1,000
• Sir Thomas Leventhorpe
  Leventhorpe Baronets
  The Leventhorpe Baronetcy, of Shingey Hall in the County of Hertford, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 30 May 1622 for John Leventhorpe. The title became extinct on the death of the fifth Baronet in 1680....
  
    £2,000
• Sir Thomas Marsh £1,500
• Captain John Millicent of Bergham £700
• Captain Thomas Storey £800
• Sir Thomas Willis £1,000

Cheshire

• Thomas Baskerville £1,000
• Thomas Cholmondeley £2,000
• John Crew £1,000
• Roger Grosvenor of Eaton £3,000
• Henry Harpur £600
• — Leigh of Lyme £4,000
• Sir Thomas Mainwaring £1,000
• James Poole £2,000
• Darcie Savage £1,000
• Edward Spencer £600
• Peter Wilbraham £1,000
• Roger Wilbraham £1,000
• Sir Thomas Wilbraham £3,000

Cornwall

• — Boscowen £4,000
• Francis Buller £3,000
• Piers Edgecumbe
  Piers Edgecumbe
  Piers Edgecumbe was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1644 and between 1662 and 1667...
  
   £2,000
• — Ellyott, of Port Eliot
  Port Eliot
  Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, is the seat of the Eliot family, whose current head is Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a house with its own church which is the parish church of St Germans. An earlier church building was the cathedral for the whole of Cornwall...
  
  
• Colonel — Godolphin £1,000
• Charles Grylls £700
• — Hallett £800
• Samuel Pendarvis
• — Penrose £1,000
• James Praed £600
• Edmund Prideaux
  Edmund Prideaux
  Sir Edmund Prideaux was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament, who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. He was briefly solicitor-general but chose to resign rather than participate in the regicide of Charles I and was afterwards attorney-general a position he held...
  
   £900
• Charles Roscarrocke £800
• Oliver Sawle £1,000
• William Scawen £800
• Joseph Tredenham £900
• John Vivyan £1,000

Cumberland

• Francis Howard £1500
• Colonel Lamplugh £1000
• William Layton £1010
• Christopher Musgrave £1000
• Thomas Curwen £1000
• William Penington £1000
• Edward Stanley £600
• Wrightington Senhouse £600

Devon

• Sir Copplestone Bamfield £1,900
• Col. Arthur Bassett £1,000
• Sir William Courtney £3,000
• Sir John Davie, Bt £2,000
• Sir John Drake, Bt. £800
• Richard Duke £1,000
• Francis Fulford of Fulford £1,000
• Col. John Gifiord £1,000
• Arthur Northcott £800
• Sir John Northcott, Bt £1,500
• Sir Courtney Poole £1,000
• Sir John Rolles £1,000
• John Tuckfield £1,000
• — Willoughby £1,700

Dorset

• — Baskervile
• Col. Humphrey Bisshopp £800
• Capt. Henry Boteler £600
• Thomas Freake £4,000
• Col. Robert Lawrence £700
• Woolley Miller £1,000
• John Still £1,000
• Col. Strangwayes £5,000
• William Thomas £600
• John Tregunwell £1,100
• Sir John Turbervile £1,500

Durham

• Col.-William Blakeston £600
• Anthony Byerley £600
• Samuel Davison £600
• Colonel Eden £1,000
• Marke Milbanke £2,000
• Ralph Millett £600
• John Tempest £1,000

Essex

• Sir William Ayloffe Bt £1,000
• Capt. Bramston £1,000
• — Clifton of Woodford £800
• Thomas Coates £1,000
• William Knight £1,000
• Thomas Lewther £1,000
• Capt. Charles Maynard £1,000
• Capt. Charles Mildmay £1,000
• Major Scott £1,000
• Henry Woolaston £1,000
• John Wrothe £1,500

Gloucestershire

• John Browneinge £800
• Buncombe Colchester £800
• William Cooke £1,000
• John Delabere £1,000
• Benedict Hall of High Meadow £4,000
• Sir Humphrey Hanmore £1,000
• Sir Humphrey Hooke
  Humphrey Hooke
  Humphrey Hooke was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War....
  
    £1,500
• William Jones £800
• Thomas Lloyd £800
• Thomas Masters £1,000
• Thomas Morgan £800
• John Smythe £1,000
• Richard Stevens £800

Herefordshire

• John Barnibee of Boothall £1,000
• Humphrey Baskerville £1,000
• Roger Bodenham, £2,000
• Wallop Brobaston £1,200
• Fitzwilliam Coningsby
  Fitzwilliam Coningsby
  Fitzwilliam Coningsby was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1621 and in 1640. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War....
  
    of Hampton Court 2000
• Humphrey Cornwall £6,000
• Sir Edward Hopton  £2,500
• Henry Lingen
  Henry Lingen
  Sir Henry Lingen , Lord of Sutton, Lingen and Stoke Edith, was a Royalist military commander in Herefordshire during the English Civil War, and later a Member of Parliament.-Ancestry:...
  
    £2,000
• Sir Thomas Tomkins £2,000
• Roger Vaughan £1,500
• Thomas Whitney £2,000
• Herbert Westfaling
  Herbert Westfaling (died 1705)
  Herbert Westfaling was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.Westfaling was the son of Herbert Westfaling of Mansell Gamage and his wife Elizabeth Frogmore, daughter of John Frogmore of Claines, Herefordshire....
  
    £800

Hertfordshire

• Edward Bashe £1,500
• Edmund Field £600
• John Gore £600
• Ralph Gore £600
• William Gore £800
• — Harrison of Balls £600
• John Jessen £600
• Thomas Keytley £800
• Capt. Thomas Morley £1,000
• Francis Shalcrosse £800
• Peter Soames £1,500
• Edward Watts £600
• Sir Henry Wrothe of Durante, in Enfield, Middlesex £2,000

London and Middlesex

Col. William Carlos

William Careless (Carlos)

Colonel William Careless was a Royalist officer of the English Civil War. It has been estimated that he was born c. 1620, however, it is more likely that he was born c. 1610. He was the second son of John Careless of Broom Hall, Brewood, Staffordshire...

  £800

Col. Charles Gifford £600

Wales

Anglesey

• John Robinson, Esq
• William Bould, Esq
• Thomas Wood, Esq
• — Bodden, Esq
• Pierce Lloyd, Esq

Brecknockshire

• Richard Gwynn, Esq
• Wilbourne Williams, Esq.
• John Jefferys, Esq.
• Walter Vaughan, Esq.

Cardiganshire

• John Jones, Esq.
• Edward Vaughan, Esq.
  Edward Vaughan (MP)
  Edward Vaughan was a Welsh lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1679 to 1681.-Life:Vaughan was born at Trawsgoed, Cardiganshire, Wales, the eldest son of the chief justice Sir John Vaughan and his wife Jane Stedman of Strata Florida. He became a student of the Inner Temple...
  
  
• Thomas Jones, Esq.
• Reynold Jenkins, Esq.
• James Lewis
  James Lewis (MP for Cardiganshire)
  James Lewis was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1656. He supported the Royalist and then the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War....
  
  

Carmarthenshire

• John Vaughan, Esq.
• Philip Vaughan, Esq.
• Henry Maunsell, Esq.
• Rowland Gwynn, Esq.
• Charles Vaughan, Esq.
• William Gwynn, Esq.
• Nicholas Williams, Esq.
• Richard Gwynn, Esq.

Caernarvonshire

• Sir John Owen's heir

Denbighshire

• Charles Salisburie, Esq.
• Huscall Thelwall, Esq.
• Foulke Middleton, Esq.
• John Wynn, Esq.
• Sir Thomas Middleton, Knt.
  Thomas Myddelton (younger)
  Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle was a Welsh politician and Parliamentary general.-Early life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Myddelton. He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 22 February 1605, and became a student of Gray's Inn in 1607. he was knighted on 10 February 1617, and was M.P...
  
   (of Chirk Castle, Wrexham)
• Bevis Lloyd, Esq.
• John Lloyd, Esq.

Flintshire

• Sir Roger Mostyn, Knt., of Mostyn, Bart.
• Sir Edward Mostyn, Knt.
• — Salisbury, of Hegragge, Esq.
• Robert Davies, Esq.
• John Puliston, Esq.
• John Hanmer, Knt, Bart.
  Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet
  Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and from 1669 to 1678. He was a Royalist during the English Civil War and raised troops for Charles I. In his personal life he was a keen horticulturists...
  
  
• William Hanmer, Esq.

Glamorganshire

• Sir — Esterlinge, Knight
• Herbert Evans, Esq.
• David Jenkins, Esq.
• Thomas Mathews, Esq.
• William Bassett, Esq.
• William Herbert, Esq.
• Edmund Lewis, Esq.
• David Mathews, Esq.

Merionethshire

• William Salisbury, Esq.
• William Price, Esq.
• William Vaughan, Esq.
• Howell Vaughan, Esq.
• — Attwyll, of Parke, Esq.
• Lewis Owen
  Lewis Owen
  Lewis Owen was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659.Owen was the son of Richard Owen of Morben and Melenceth Merionethshire and his wife Margaret Owen daughter of Lewis Owen of Peniarth . He matriculated at Queens College, Oxford on 17 March 1637 aged 15 and was admitted to...
  
  , Esq.
• John Lloyd, Esq.

Monmouthshire

• William Morgan
  William Morgan (of Machen and Tredegar)
  William Morgan was a Welsh politician of the 17th century.Morgan was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Morgan , of Machen, and his second wife, Elizabeth Windham....
  
  , Esq.
• William Jones, of Lanarthe, Esq.
• Thomas Lewis, Esq.
• Charles Vann, Esq.
• Walter Rumsey
  Walter Rumsey
  Walter Rumsey was a Welsh judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He suffered for his support of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War...
  
  , Esq.
• William Jones, of Llantrischent, Esq.
• — Milbourne, Esq.

Montgomeryshire

• John Pugh, Esq.
• — Owen, Esq., of Ruserton
• — Blaney, Esq.
• Roger Lloyd, Esq.
• Richard Owen, Esq.
• Richard Herbert, Esq.
• Sir Edward Lloyd
• Edmund Wareinge, Esq.

Pembrokeshire

• Thomas Langhorne, Esq.
• Lewis Wogan, Esq.
• Hugh Bowen, Esq.
• Essex Merricke, Esq.
• Sir John Lort, Knt.
  Lort Baronets
  The Lort Baronetcy, of Stackpoole Court in the County of Pembroke, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 15 July 1662 for Roger Lort. The title became extinct on the death of the third Baronet in 1698....
  
   (Bart, after)

Radnorshire

• George Gwynne
  George Gwynne
  George Gwynne was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1660.Gwynne was the son of David Gwynne and his wife Joan Morgan daughter of George Morgan of Itton, Monmouthshire. He inherited Pencoyd Castle Monmouthshire from his uncle Christopher Morgan...
  
  
• Evan Davies
• — Price, Esq.