Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, (1631 – 15 May 1699) was an English

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who became a close adviser to

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

and was appointed a

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Early life

Petre was the son of Sir Francis Petre, 1st Baronet, of Cranham (Essex), head of a junior branch of the family of the

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

, by his marriage to Elizabeth Gage, a daughter of Sir John Gage, both strong

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. In 1649 he was sent for his education to the Jesuit College at St Omer and entered the Society of Jesus in 1671.

Career

Petre served as a chaplain and adviser to

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

and was an unpopular and galvanising presence at James's court. James, as a Roman Catholic reigning over a nation of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s, aroused much ire, and much of it was directed at Petre, his close advisor on religious matters. Before James's accession in 1685, Petre was vice-provincial of his order. James soon made him

clerk of the closet The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may, however, remain in office after leavi ...

, a position without political power. Later that year, James wrote to ask

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

to make Petre a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

''in partibus'' (a bishop without a see, now called a

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), but Innocent refused. In 1686, Lord Castlemaine, James's ambassador to

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, renewed the application, while James urged it forcibly on

Ferdinando d'Adda Ferdinando d'Adda (27 August 1649 – 27 January 1719) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, bishop and diplomat. As a member of the family of the counts of Adda, he was a kinsman of Pope Innocent XI, who conferred upon him the titular abbacy of a fam ...

, the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

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. If the Pope was unmoved, the king was characteristically obstinate. James and Castlemaine continued to push for a bishop's position for Petre through 1687, and further requested that Petre be made a

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, but the pope steadfastly refused. James contemplated making Petre Anglican

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when the see fell vacant, but the pope would not grant Petre a dispensation to hold it, and he even directed Petre's superiors to rebuke him for his excessive ambition. Petre was made a privy counsellor and

Clerk of the Closet The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may, however, remain in office after leavi ...

the same year. After his nomination to the Privy Council, the popular charges against Petre became more fervid than ever, reaching their height in insinuations made about the controversial birth of

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, in 1688. Like many at James's court, Petre at first trusted Lord Sunderland, but he was also among the first to detect that minister's duplicity and to break with him. Modern scholars have given mixed reviews of Petre's behaviour, and contemporary sources on both sides are biased. The ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' says of him "with little gift for politics, nor paying much heed to them, he was nevertheless severely blamed when things went wrong. He was also regardless, almost callous, as to what was said about him by friend or foe." Petre fled to France soon after William III's armies landed in England, and he remained with James in his exile. He became head of his old college of St Omer in 1693. He was later transferred to

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in Flanders, where he died in 1699.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petre, Edward 1631 births 1699 deaths

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

17th-century English Jesuits Baronets in the Baronetage of England History of Catholicism in England English Jacobites Members of the Privy Council of England Clerks of the Closet Recusants