George Kirke (died 1675) was a Scottish-born courtier and Member of Parliament for Clitheroe. He was a son of George Kirke, a servant of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

. George Kirke senior was keeper of the chamber door to

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

in Scotland at

Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace is a ruined former Scottish royal palace and important tourist attraction in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It is currently, along with other buildings of the adjacent Dunfermline Abbey, under the care of Historic Environm ...

and was given a pension for his long service, with other servants of the Prince in March 1605.

Career

George Kirke, younger, was a page to

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

. He became a

Groom of the Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to Prince Charles in 1613. Kirke went to Spain in 1623 during Prince Charles'

Spanish Match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Charles I of England, Prince Charles, the son of James I of England, King James I of Great Britain, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. Negotiations too ...

. The goldsmith

George Heriot George Heriot (15 June 1563 – 12 February 1624) was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large independent school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to H ...

, who died in 1623, bequeathed to him either a diamond or piece of gold or silver plate worth £50. He continued as a groom of the bedchamber to King Charles and gentleman of the robes. His accounts detail purchases of fabric and tailoring for the king. He provided costume for the masque ''Coelium Britannicum'' in February 1634, and bought diamonds and pearls for robes worn on St George's day 1639. In 1662, he was made keeper of

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...

. He went to Spain with Prince Charles during the

Spanish match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Charles I of England, Prince Charles, the son of James I of England, King James I of Great Britain, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. Negotiations too ...

of 1623. King James wrote that "Kirke and Gabriel" would bring additional jewels to Charles and Buckingham including Georges and garters, insignia of the royal order. The court jeweller

bequeathed him a piece of silver plate or a diamond worth 50 marks Sterling. He has been suggested as the author "G. K." of a poem addressed to

Venetia Stanley Venetia Anastasia Digby (née Stanley) (December 1600 – 1 May 1633) was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period and the wife of a prominent courtier and scientist, Kenelm Digby. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of North ...

, the wife of

Kenelm Digby Sir Kenelm Digby (11 July 1603 – 11 June 1665) was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, astrologer and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, he is d ...

, "A Breef and Mysticall description of the Fayre and Statelye Venetia". His, or his father's, eligibility as a Scot to sit as a Member of Parliament for Clitheroe in 1626 was challenged. George Kirke, gentleman of the robes, was naturalized as a denizen of England. He died on 20 May 1675 and was buried at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

Marriages and children

Van Dyck - Portrait of Anne Killigrew (1607-1641), wife of George Kirke, c

Kirke married

Anne Killigrew Anne Killigrew (1660–1685) was an English poet and painter, described by contemporaries as "A Grace for beauty, and a Muse for wit." Born in London, she and her family were active in literary and court circles. Killigrew's poems were ci ...

(1607-1641), daughter of Sir Robert Killigrew and

Mary Woodhouse Mary Woodhouse (d. 1656), musician and correspondent of Constantijn Huygens, was the daughter of Henry Woodhouse (MP) of Hickling and Waxham, and Anne Bacon, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon. (Some sources say she was a daughter of the Woodhouse fa ...

. In January 1633 she played the part of Camena in Walter Montagu's '' Shepherd's Paradise''. She was appointed a dresser to

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

in 1637. She was painted by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

twice. Anne Kirke drowned at

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

on 6 July 1641. This tragedy was the subject of several poems including; Robert Heath's ''Epicedium on the Beautiful Lady Mrs A. K. unfortunately drowned by chance in the Thames in passing the Bridge'', Henry King's ''An Elegy upon Mrs. Kirk unfortunately drowned in Thames'', her niece Anne Killigrew's ''On my Aunt Mrs A. K. drown'd under London-bridge in the Queen's Bardge Anno 1641'', and elegies by

Henry Glapthorne Henry Glapthorne (baptised, 28 July 1610 – c. 1643) was an English dramatist and poet, baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith ''née'' Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Cok ...

and

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist C ...

. Their children included: * Charles Kirke, who claimed the keepership of

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...

in 1650 * Lucy Hamilton Sandys (Lucie Saunders), (d. 1687), who was a witness to

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage ...

's will. In 1646 he married Mary Townshend, daughter of

Aurelian Townshend Aurelian Townshend (sometimes Townsend; c. 1583 – c. 1649) was a seventeenth-century English poet and playwright. Family Aurelian Townshend was the son of John Townshend of Dereham Abbey, Norfolk. Both Aurelian and his sister, Frances, were b ...

. King Charles is said to have given hin a lace collar, a hanfkerchief, and a night cap as a wedding present. Their children included:John Harold Wilson, ''Court Satires of the Restoration'' (Ohio U. P., 1976), p. 258-9. *

Percy Kirke Lieutenant General Percy Kirke (c. 1646 – 31 October 1691), English soldier, was the son of George Kirke, a court official to Charles I and Charles II. Career In 1666 Kirke obtained his first Army commission in Lord Admiral's regiment, and ...

(d. 1691), who married Mary or Elizabeth Howard, a daughter of

George Howard, 4th Earl of Suffolk George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

. He was commander of a regiment known as "Kirke's lambs" * Philip Kirke * Diana Kirke, who married

Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germani ...

* Mary or "Mall" Kirke, who was a maid of honour to

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

References

External links

Portrait of Anne Kirke, Huntington

Portrait of Ladies-in-Waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria: Anne Killigrew, Mrs George Kirke and Charlotte, Lady Strange, Hermitage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirke, George 1675 deaths 17th-century Scottish people Grooms of the Chamber