Sir Henry Shirley, 2nd Baronet
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Sir Henry Shirley, 2nd Baronet (1589–1633), landowner and local politician, was born in January 1589 at
Somerton, Oxfordshire Somerton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, in the Cherwell valley about northwest of Bicester. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 305. Archaeology Fourteen Saxon or early medieval graves have been disc ...
, the eldest child of Sir George Shirley. According to the memoir of his younger brother Sir Thomas Shirley, he attended
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, but no record of this has been found. He then travelled abroad before joining the court 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 ...
. In May 1615 he married Lady Dorothy Devereux, the daughter of
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
. On his father's death Shirley entered local politics as a supporter of the
Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...
. In 1624 he was pricked as high sheriff of Leicestershire. The following year, he read the proclamation of the accession of
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...
in Leicester's market place. He was the most active local opponent of Leicestershire's lord lieutenant, the
Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...
. In 1627 an absurd squabble with a gentleman of the earl's household led to his imprisonment and house arrest, ended by an embarrassing public apology. When he was subsequently accused of adultery, his wife 'both for safeguard of her honour, blemished by him scandalously, and for her alimony or maintenance (being glad to get from him) … was forced to endure a suit in the
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'. He subsequently boasted that he had been promised a barony as compensation, if he failed to secure a seat in the parliamentary elections, and the lieutenancy of Leicestershire. The privy council were initially lenient, but when it was widely reported that he had said he 'cared for never a Lord in England a fart, except the Lord of Hosts', he was summoned before the House of Lords and committed to the Fleet Prison. Four days later the house heard his apologies and ordered that they be published at the next assizes in Leicester. Shirley died in February 1633 and was buried in the Shirley family chapel at
Breedon on the Hill Breedon on the Hill is a village and civil parish about north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire, England. The parish adjoins the Derbyshire county boundary and the village is only about south of the Derbyshire town of Melbourn ...
, Leicestershire. According to his brother, he died a Catholic. Two years later his widow married William Stafford (c.1604–1637) of
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, Northamptonshire, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in the Queen's chapel at
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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Henry 1589 births 1633 deaths 17th-century English nobility 17th-century Roman Catholics Baronets in the Baronetage of England High sheriffs of Leicestershire Shirley baronets