William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts (c.1611–1677) was an English baron and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Charles II.

Life

He was the son of

Sir Henry Crofts Sir Henry Crofts (June 1590 – March 1667) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1660. Crofts was the eldest son of Sir John Crofts of Little Saxham and West Stow and his wife Mary Shirle ...

, MP, of

Little Saxham Little Saxham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Saxhams, in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The village appears as ''Sexham'' in the Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle ...

, Suffolk. He moved to court c.1630 as a servant of Queen Henrietta Maria, the consort of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. The lady in waiting to

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 159613 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted for just one winter, she is called the Win ...

known as "Margaret Crofts" has sometimes been identified as his sister. However, the will of

Margaret Croft Margaret Croft or Crofts (died 1637) was an English aristocrat. Family background She was a daughter of Sir Herbert Croft of Croft Castle and Mary Bourne, daughter and heiress of Anthony Bourne of Holt Castle, Worcestershire. Her father conve ...

from Herefordshire seems to identify her as this royal servant. William Crofts carried letters to the court of Elizabeth of Bohemia. In 1644 his brother was shot in the head by the queen's court dwarf

Jeffrey Hudson Jeffrey Hudson (1619 – ''circa'' 1682) was a court dwarf of the English queen Henrietta Maria of France. He was famous as the "Queen's dwarf" and "Lord Minimus", and was considered one of the "wonders of the age" because of his extreme but ...

. Henrietta Maria wrote to

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

to intercede for Hudson's life. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he remained loyal to the king and queen, and was rewarded by the grant of several manors in Essex and Suffolk. He followed Charles II into exile in France and in 1651-52 was sent on diplomatic missions to Eastern Europe, primarily to raise funds. For his loyal services he was made in 1652 a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the still exiled Charles II. In 1658 he was ennobled as Baron Crofts of Saxham and in that year was given charge of

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, the illegitimate son of Charles II by

Lucy Walter Lucy Walter (c. 1630 – 1658), also known as Lucy Barlow, was a Welsh noblewoman, the first mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James, Duke of Monmouth. During the Exclusion Crisis, a Protestant faction wanted to make her son h ...

, who had recently died. In 1667 he succeeded his father, inheriting Little Saxham Hall, the family seat, which he made his home. He married twice, firstly Dorothy, the daughter of Sir John Hobart, Bt. and widow of Sir John Hele and secondly Elizabeth, the daughter of Lord Spencer of

Wormleighton Wormleighton is a village in Warwickshire on top of Wormleighton Hill overlooking the River Cherwell, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 183. The original village was by the banks of the Cherwell and can still be seen as a ...

. Upon his death in 1677 he was laid to rest in Little Saxham church, where there is an impressive memorial to him and his wife.

References

;Attribution * 1610s births 1677 deaths People from the Borough of St Edmundsbury Barons in the Peerage of England Year of birth uncertain 17th-century English diplomats {{England-diplomat-stub