Knollys (family)
Encyclopedia
Knollys, the name of an English
family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys
(died 1435), Lord Mayor of London
. The first distinguished member of the family was Sir Francis Knollys
(c. 1514–1596), English statesman, son of Sir Robert Knollys
, or Knolles (died 1521), a courtier
in the service and favour of Henry VII
and Henry VIII
. Robert had also a younger son, Sir Henry, who took part in public life during the reign of Elizabeth I
and who died in 1583. From the time of Sir Francis, the family were associated with Greys Court
at Rotherfield Greys
and Caversham Park
, then in Oxfordshire
, as well as the nearby town of Reading
in Berkshire
, where the family's private chapel could once be seen in the church of St Laurence.
, who entered the service of Henry VIII before 1540, became a Member of Parliament
in 1542 and was knighted in 1547 while serving with the English army in Scotland
. He became custodian of Wallingford Castle
in 1551. A strong and somewhat aggressive supporter of the reformed doctrines, he retired to Germany
soon after Mary
became queen, returning to England to become a privy councillor, vice-Chamberlain
of the royal household and a Member of Parliament under Queen Elizabeth, whose cousin Catherine Carey
(d. 1568), daughter of William Carey and niece of Anne Boleyn
, was his wife. After serving as governor of Plymouth
, Knollys was sent in 1566 to Ireland
, his mission being to obtain for the queen confidential reports about the conduct of the lord-deputy Sir Henry Sidney
.
Approving of Sidney's actions, he came back to England, and in 1568 was sent to Carlisle to take charge of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had just fled from Scotland; afterwards he was in charge of the queen at Bolton Castle
and then at Tutbury Castle
. He discussed religious questions with his prisoner, although the extreme Protestant views which he put before her did not meet with Elizabeth's approval, and he gave up the position of guardian just after his wife's death in January 1569. In 1584 he introduced into the House of Commons
, where since 1572 he had represented Oxfordshire, the bill legalizing the national association for Elizabeth's defence, and he was treasurer of the royal household from 1572 until his death on 19 July 1596.
His monument may still be seen in the church of Rotherfield Greys. Knollys was repeatedly free and frank in his objections to Elizabeth's tortuous foreign policy; but, possibly owing to his relationship to the queen, he did not lose her favor and he was one of her commissioners on such important occasions as the trials of Mary Queen of Scots, of Philip Howard
, earl of Arundel
, and of Anthony Babington
. An active and lifelong Puritan
, his attacks on the bishop
s were not lacking in vigour and he was also very hostile to heretic
s. He received many grants of land from the queen, and was chief steward
of the city of Oxford
and a Knight of the Garter.
It would seem that his son Sir Francis Knollys the Younger
, in earlier years a pirate and soldier was Elizabeth's Vice-Chamberlain, who may be associated with The Lord Chamberlain's Men - Shakespeare's company - through Carey family connections to Sir Francis the Elder. In either case, Franklin's or Francolin's - an anagram of Francis Knollys - substitutes for Chamberlain's as a pun in the company's title.
(died 1583), Sir Edward (died 1580), Sir Robert (died 1625), Sir Richard (died 1596), Sir Francis
(died 1648) and Sir Thomas, were all courtiers and served the queen in parliament or in the field. Richard's family continued to live at Rotherfield Greys, while Francis Junior's descendants held Battle Manor in Reading. The latter's daughter, Lettice (died 1666), was the second wife of the parliamentarian, John Hampden
. Francis Senior's daughter, Lettice
(1540–1634), married Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
and then Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
. She was the mother of Elizabeth's favorite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
.
Sir Francis Knollys's second son William
(c. 1547–1632) served as a member of parliament and a soldier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was knighted in 1586. William inherited his father's estates in Oxfordshire (his eldest brother Henry having died without sons in 1583) and became in 1596 a privy councillor and comptroller, and subsequently treasurer, of the royal household. Sir William enjoyed the favour of the new king, James I
, whom he had visited in Scotland in 1585, and was made Baron Knollys in 1603 and Viscount Wallingford in 1616. But in this latter year his fortunes suffered a temporary reverse.
Through his second wife Elizabeth Howard (1586–1658), daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
, William was related to Frances, Countess of Somerset
, and when this lady was tried for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury
her relatives were regarded with suspicion; consequently Lord Wallingford resigned the treasurership of the household and two years later the mastership of the Court of Wards, an office which he had held since 1614. However, he regained the royal favor, and was created earl of Banbury
in 1626. He died in London on 25 May 1632.
Some of Sir Francis Knollys's letters are in T. Wright's Queen Elizabeth and Her Times (1838) and the Burghley Papers, edited by S. Haynes (1740); and a few of his manuscripts are still in existence. A speech which Knollys delivered in parliament against some claims made by the bishops was printed in 1608 and again in W. Stoughton's Assertion for True and Christian Church Policie (London, 1642).
, and in 1661 he was not summoned to parliament; he had not succeeded in obtaining his writ of summons when he died on 14 March 1674.
Nicholas's son Sir Charles (1662–1740), the 4th earl, had not been summoned to parliament when in 1692 he killed Captain Philip Lawson in a duel. This raised the question of his rank in a new form. Was he, or was he not, entitled to trial by the peers? The House of Lords declared that he was not a peer and therefore not so entitled, but the Court of King's Bench released him from his imprisonment on the ground that he was the Earl of Banbury and not Charles Knollys, a commoner. Nevertheless, the House of Lords refused to move from its position, and Knollys had not received a writ of summons when he died in April 1740. His son Sir Charles (1703–1771), vicar
of Burford
, Oxfordshire, and his grandsons, Sir William (1726–1776) and Sir Thomas Woods (1727–1793), were successively titular Earls of Banbury, but they took no steps to prove their title.
However, in 1806, Sir Thomas Woods's son Sir William (1763–1834), who attained the rank of general in the British army, asked for a writ of summons as Earl of Banbury, but in 1813 the House of Lords decided against the claim. Several peers, including the great Lord Erskine
, protested against this decision, but General Knollys himself accepted it and ceased to call himself Earl of Banbury. He died in Paris on 20 March 1834. His eldest son, Sir William Thomas Knollys
(1797–1883), entered the army and served with the Guards during the Peninsular War
. Remaining in the army after the conclusion of the peace of 1815 he won a good reputation and rose high in his profession. He lived at Blount's Court at Rotherfield Peppard
in Oxfordshire
. From 1855 to 1860 he was in charge of the military camp at Aldershot
, then in its infancy, and in 1861 he was made president of the council of military education. From 1862 to 1877 he was comptroller
of the household of the Prince of Wales
, afterwards King Edward VII
. From 1877 until his death on 23 June 1883, he was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod; he was also a privy councillor and colonel of the Scots Guards
. Of his children, one son Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys
(b. 1837), was private secretary to Edward VII and George V
(created Baron Knollys in 1902 and Viscount Knollys
in 1911); another son, Sir Henry Knollys
(1840–1930), became private secretary to King Edward's daughter Maud, Queen of Norway; and daughter, Charlotte
, became the Private Secretary
and close friend to the Princess of Wales
, later Queen Alexandra
and died unmarried in 1930.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys
Thomas Knollys
Sir Thomas Knollys was Sheriff of London in 1395 and Lord Mayor of London in 1399 and 1410.-Biography:Lord-mayor Knollys was a member of the Grocers' Company. He directed in 1400 the rebuilding of the Guildhall, and he also rebuilt St. Antholin's Church in Watling Street, where he was buried with...
(died 1435), Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
. The first distinguished member of the family was Sir Francis Knollys
Francis Knollys (the elder)
Sir Francis Knollys , of Greys Court, in Oxfordshire, KG was an English courtier in the service and favour of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I of England, and was a Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies....
(c. 1514–1596), English statesman, son of Sir Robert Knollys
Robert Knollys (courtier)
Sir Robert Knollys was an English courtier in the service and favour of Henry VII and Henry VIII.-Biography:Sir Robert was the son of Robert Knollys and Elizabeth Troutbeck, and grandson of Sir Richard Knollys and Margaret D'Oyley, and Sir John Troutbeck and Margaret Hulse.In 1488 Knollys was...
, or Knolles (died 1521), a courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
in the service and favour of Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Robert had also a younger son, Sir Henry, who took part in public life during the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and who died in 1583. From the time of Sir Francis, the family were associated with Greys Court
Greys Court
Greys Court is a Tudor country house and associated gardens, located at , at the southern end of the Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public....
at Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....
and Caversham Park
Caversham Park
Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:...
, then in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, as well as the nearby town of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, where the family's private chapel could once be seen in the church of St Laurence.
Sir Francis Knollys (c.1514-1596)
Francis KnollysFrancis Knollys (the elder)
Sir Francis Knollys , of Greys Court, in Oxfordshire, KG was an English courtier in the service and favour of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I of England, and was a Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies....
, who entered the service of Henry VIII before 1540, became a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in 1542 and was knighted in 1547 while serving with the English army in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He became custodian of Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
in 1551. A strong and somewhat aggressive supporter of the reformed doctrines, he retired to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
soon after Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
became queen, returning to England to become a privy councillor, vice-Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
of the royal household and a Member of Parliament under Queen Elizabeth, whose cousin Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey
Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey,...
(d. 1568), daughter of William Carey and niece of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, was his wife. After serving as governor of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, Knollys was sent in 1566 to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, his mission being to obtain for the queen confidential reports about the conduct of the lord-deputy Sir Henry Sidney
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney , Lord Deputy of Ireland was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received extensive grants of land, including the manor of Penshurst in Kent, which became the...
.
Approving of Sidney's actions, he came back to England, and in 1568 was sent to Carlisle to take charge of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had just fled from Scotland; afterwards he was in charge of the queen at Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle in North Yorkshire, is located in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales . The nearby village Castle Bolton takes its name from the castle. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War, but much of it remains...
and then at Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building...
. He discussed religious questions with his prisoner, although the extreme Protestant views which he put before her did not meet with Elizabeth's approval, and he gave up the position of guardian just after his wife's death in January 1569. In 1584 he introduced into the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, where since 1572 he had represented Oxfordshire, the bill legalizing the national association for Elizabeth's defence, and he was treasurer of the royal household from 1572 until his death on 19 July 1596.
His monument may still be seen in the church of Rotherfield Greys. Knollys was repeatedly free and frank in his objections to Elizabeth's tortuous foreign policy; but, possibly owing to his relationship to the queen, he did not lose her favor and he was one of her commissioners on such important occasions as the trials of Mary Queen of Scots, of Philip Howard
Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel
Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales...
, earl of Arundel
Arundel
Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
, and of Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington was convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots...
. An active and lifelong Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
, his attacks on the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s were not lacking in vigour and he was also very hostile to heretic
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
s. He received many grants of land from the queen, and was chief steward
Chief Steward
A chief steward is the senior unlicensed crew member working in the Steward's Department of a ship. Since there is no purser on most ships in the United States Merchant Marine, the steward is the senior person in the department, whence its name...
of the city of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and a Knight of the Garter.
It would seem that his son Sir Francis Knollys the Younger
Francis Knollys (admiral)
Sir Francis Knollys was an English privateer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1575 and 1648....
, in earlier years a pirate and soldier was Elizabeth's Vice-Chamberlain, who may be associated with The Lord Chamberlain's Men - Shakespeare's company - through Carey family connections to Sir Francis the Elder. In either case, Franklin's or Francolin's - an anagram of Francis Knollys - substitutes for Chamberlain's as a pun in the company's title.
Children of Sir Francis Knollys the Elder
Sir Francis's sons Sir HenryHenry Knollys (MP)
Henry Knollys was an English courtier, privateer and Member of Parliament.He was born the eldest son of Sir Francis Knollys, Treasurer of the Royal Household, and Catherine Carey, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I...
(died 1583), Sir Edward (died 1580), Sir Robert (died 1625), Sir Richard (died 1596), Sir Francis
Francis Knollys (admiral)
Sir Francis Knollys was an English privateer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1575 and 1648....
(died 1648) and Sir Thomas, were all courtiers and served the queen in parliament or in the field. Richard's family continued to live at Rotherfield Greys, while Francis Junior's descendants held Battle Manor in Reading. The latter's daughter, Lettice (died 1666), was the second wife of the parliamentarian, John Hampden
John Hampden
John Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...
. Francis Senior's daughter, Lettice
Lettice Knollys
Lettice Knollys , Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester , was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtiers Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and Lady Penelope Rich; through her marriage to Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, she incurred the Queen's undying...
(1540–1634), married Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG , an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantation of Ulster, where he ordered the massacre of Rathlin Island...
and then Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
. She was the mother of Elizabeth's favorite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
.
Sir Francis Knollys's second son William
William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury
Sir William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury, KG, PC was an English nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I and King James...
(c. 1547–1632) served as a member of parliament and a soldier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was knighted in 1586. William inherited his father's estates in Oxfordshire (his eldest brother Henry having died without sons in 1583) and became in 1596 a privy councillor and comptroller, and subsequently treasurer, of the royal household. Sir William enjoyed the favour of the new king, James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, whom he had visited in Scotland in 1585, and was made Baron Knollys in 1603 and Viscount Wallingford in 1616. But in this latter year his fortunes suffered a temporary reverse.
Through his second wife Elizabeth Howard (1586–1658), daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
, William was related to Frances, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset was an English noblewoman who was the central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I...
, and when this lady was tried for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury
Thomas Overbury
Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
her relatives were regarded with suspicion; consequently Lord Wallingford resigned the treasurership of the household and two years later the mastership of the Court of Wards, an office which he had held since 1614. However, he regained the royal favor, and was created earl of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
in 1626. He died in London on 25 May 1632.
Some of Sir Francis Knollys's letters are in T. Wright's Queen Elizabeth and Her Times (1838) and the Burghley Papers, edited by S. Haynes (1740); and a few of his manuscripts are still in existence. A speech which Knollys delivered in parliament against some claims made by the bishops was printed in 1608 and again in W. Stoughton's Assertion for True and Christian Church Policie (London, 1642).
Earls of Banbury
The Earl of Banbury's wife, who was nearly forty years her husband's junior, was the mother of two sons, Sir Edward (1627–1645) and Sir Nicholas (1631–1674), whose paternity has given rise to much dispute. Neither is mentioned in the earl's will, but in 1641 the law courts decided that Edward was Earl of Banbury, and when he was killed in June 1645 his brother Nicholas took the title. In the Convention Parliament of 1660 some objection was taken to the earl sitting in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, and in 1661 he was not summoned to parliament; he had not succeeded in obtaining his writ of summons when he died on 14 March 1674.
Nicholas's son Sir Charles (1662–1740), the 4th earl, had not been summoned to parliament when in 1692 he killed Captain Philip Lawson in a duel. This raised the question of his rank in a new form. Was he, or was he not, entitled to trial by the peers? The House of Lords declared that he was not a peer and therefore not so entitled, but the Court of King's Bench released him from his imprisonment on the ground that he was the Earl of Banbury and not Charles Knollys, a commoner. Nevertheless, the House of Lords refused to move from its position, and Knollys had not received a writ of summons when he died in April 1740. His son Sir Charles (1703–1771), vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Burford
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
, Oxfordshire, and his grandsons, Sir William (1726–1776) and Sir Thomas Woods (1727–1793), were successively titular Earls of Banbury, but they took no steps to prove their title.
However, in 1806, Sir Thomas Woods's son Sir William (1763–1834), who attained the rank of general in the British army, asked for a writ of summons as Earl of Banbury, but in 1813 the House of Lords decided against the claim. Several peers, including the great Lord Erskine
Lord Erskine
The Lordship of Parliament of Erskine was created around 1426 for Sir Robert Erskine. The sixth lord was created Earl of Mar in 1565, with which title the lordship then merged.-Lords Erskine :...
, protested against this decision, but General Knollys himself accepted it and ceased to call himself Earl of Banbury. He died in Paris on 20 March 1834. His eldest son, Sir William Thomas Knollys
William Thomas Knollys
General Sir William Thomas Knollys KCB was a British Army General who reached high office in the 1860s.-Military career:...
(1797–1883), entered the army and served with the Guards during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. Remaining in the army after the conclusion of the peace of 1815 he won a good reputation and rose high in his profession. He lived at Blount's Court at Rotherfield Peppard
Rotherfield Peppard
Rotherfield Peppard is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is just over west of Henley-on-Thames, about north of Reading, Berkshire and just over west of the village of Rotherfield Greys.-History:Rotherfield derives from the Old English redrefeld meaning...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. From 1855 to 1860 he was in charge of the military camp at Aldershot
Aldershot Command
-History:After the success of the Chobham Manoeuvres of 1853, a permanent training camp was established at Aldershot in 1854 on the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, Viscount Hardinge...
, then in its infancy, and in 1861 he was made president of the council of military education. From 1862 to 1877 he was comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
of the household of the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, afterwards King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. From 1877 until his death on 23 June 1883, he was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod; he was also a privy councillor and colonel of the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. Of his children, one son Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys
Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys
Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, PC, ISO , was Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1901–1913....
(b. 1837), was private secretary to Edward VII and George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(created Baron Knollys in 1902 and Viscount Knollys
Viscount Knollys
Viscount Knollys, of Caversham in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the court official Francis Knollys, 1st Baron Knollys, Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 1901 to 1913. He had been previously created Baron Knollys, of Caversham...
in 1911); another son, Sir Henry Knollys
Henry Knollys
Sir Henry Knollys K.C.V.O. was firstly an officer in the Royal Artillery, British Army, and, later, a private secretary to a member of the British Royal Family....
(1840–1930), became private secretary to King Edward's daughter Maud, Queen of Norway; and daughter, Charlotte
Charlotte Knollys
Elizabeth Charlotte Knollys was a Lady of the Bedchamber, and the first woman private secretary, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, later Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, became the Private Secretary
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
The Private Secretary to the Sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, as distinct from the Great Officers of the Household. The Private Secretary is the principal channel of communication with Her Majesty's Government and the...
and close friend to the Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
, later Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
and died unmarried in 1930.
External links
- Royal Berkshire History: Sir Francis Knollys Senior, Sir Francis Knollys Junior, Richard Knollys & Robert Knollys