John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton (1592 – 27 February 1614), of Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland was a young English peer and politician. He was the

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland. In 1974 Rutland became part of Leicestershire under the Local Government Act 1972, the Lieutenancy was abolished, with Rutland's Lord-Lieutenant becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Le ...

and Baron Harington of Exton.

Early life

Henry_Prince_of_Wales_on_the_Hunting_Field_Robert_Peake

He was the surviving son of Sir John Harington (later created Baron Harington of Exton in 1603) and his wife,

Anne Keilway Anne Keilway, Lady Harington (died 1620) was an English courtier. Career She was a daughter of Robert Keilway or "Kelway" of Minster Lovell and Cecily Bulstrode, a daughter of Edward Bulstrode of Hedgerley in Buckinghamshire and widow of Al ...

, daughter of

Robert Keilway Robert Keilway (''alias'' Kellway, Keylway, Kaylway, Kelloway, etc.) (in or before 1515–1581) of Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, was an English people, English politician and court official. He was the son of Robert Keilway (by 1483 – ...

, Surveyor of the

Court of Wards and Liveries The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudalism, feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wa ...

, and was born at Combe Abbey, near

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, in April 1592. He was admitted in 1607 to

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, which had been founded by Frances Sidney, his father's aunt, and to which he and his father were benefactors. He was educated with the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and they remained close friends until the prince's death. He succeeded his father as

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

in August 1613. The actor

Kit Harington Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986), known professionally as Kit Harington, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Jon Snow (character), Jon Snow in the HBO fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011� ...

is descended from Sir John's uncle, Sir James Harington, 1st Baronet Harington of Ridlington.

On tour

Friend and companion of

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, Queen Anne. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; and Fr ...

, on 5 January 1604 he was created, along with The Duke of York and others, a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

. In September he went a foreign tour with John Tovey, a master of the free school at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

. While abroad he corresponded in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

with Prince Henry. After seven weeks in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, where he visited the universities, courts of three princes, and military fortifications, Harington went to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1608. In

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, the English ambassador

Henry Wotton Sir Henry Wotton (; 30 March 1568 – December 1639) was an English author, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons in 1614 and 1625. When on a mission to Augsburg in 1604, he famously said "An amba ...

introduced him to the

Doge Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to: Internet culture * Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed ** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme ** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...

as Prince Henry's "right eye". Harington wrote from

(28 May 1609) announcing his intention of returning through

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to spend the rest of his life with his royal friend. Henry's death (6 November 1612) greatly grieved him.

Return to England

On his return to Coventry Harington became the Member of Parliament for

for a brief period (1610–1611) when the incumbent John Rogerson was taken ill. He was also appointed

in 1613 on the death of his father, a position he held until his own death the following year. In August 1613 21-year-old Harington succeeded to his father's title and a heritage of debts, and vainly attempted to retrieve the family fortunes by obtaining a royal patent on the minting of lead farthings from the mint under a scheme proposed by Gerard de Malynes on 10 April. After the farthings proved unpopular, the young Lord Harington of Exton died at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

on 27 February 1614 and was buried at Exton. On 18 February he had sold the lordship of Exton to Sir Baptist Hicks, and by his will, made at the same time, left the overplus of the estates, after the creditors had been paid (according to his mother the debts amounted to £40,000), to his two sisters, two-thirds to Lucy, Countess of Bedford, and one-third to Frances, Lady Chichester (d. 1615), whose kneeling effigy exists in Pilton Church in Devon, first wife of Sir Robert Chichester (1578–1627) of

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. The Countess of Bedford eventually sold the remaining family estates in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

Reputation

Harington's contemporaries wrote of him in the highest terms. His funeral sermon was preached by Richard Stock, pastor of

All Hallows, Bread Street All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in ...

, and published as "The Church's Lament for the Loss of the Godly" (London, 1614), with a small woodprint portrait."John Harington, Second Baron Harington of Exton", Oxford DNB. Appended to this publication were an epitaph and elegies by F. Herring and

Sir Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Emp ...

. At the same time a poem entitled "Sorrows Lenitive, written upon occasion of the death of that hopeful and noble young gentleman, &c.", was written by Abraham Jackson, and dedicated to Harington's mother and sister Lucy.

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

took leave of poetry in a funeral ode on Harington (published after his death in his volume of ''Poems'', London, 1633), and Thomas Gataker, in his "Discours Apologetical", London, 1654, p. 36, styles him a "mirror of nobility". A portrait is in Henry Holland's ''Herωologia''.

References

; Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Harington Of Exton, John Harington, 2nd Baron 1592 births 1614 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Barons Harington of Exton English MPs 1604–1611 Lord-lieutenants of Rutland Members of Parliament for Coventry

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...