William Fuller, English impostor, was born at

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

in Kent. His paternity is doubtful, but he was related to the family of Herbert. After 1688, Fuller served

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 ...

, Queen consort of James II of England, and the Jacobites while seeking at the same time to gain favor with William III of England. After associating with Titus Oates, being imprisoned for debt and pretending to reveal Jacobite plots, the House of Commons in 1692 declared he was an imposter, cheat and false accuser. Having stood in the

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks ...

, he was again imprisoned until 1695, when he was released; at this time he took the opportunity to revive the old and familiar story that Mary of Modena was not the mother of James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales. In 1701, he published his autobiographical ''Life of William Fuller and some Original Letters of the late King James''. Unable to prove the assertions made in his writings he was put in the pillory, whipped and fined. He was still in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

in 1730, when he wrote to William Wake,

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, disavowing (not for the first time) his earlier inventions. He was almost certainly the William Fuller, prisoner, whose burial is recorded in the register of Christ Church Newgate on 24 March 1733. Fuller's other writings are ''Mr. William Fuller's trip to Bridewell, with a full account of his barbarous usage in the

; The sincere and hearty confession of Mr. William Fuller'' (1704); and ''An humble appeal to the impartial judgment of all parties in Great Britain'' (1716).

Notes

References

* ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', entry on William Fuller.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, William 1670 births 1733 deaths People from Milton, Kent English autobiographers Impostors People imprisoned for debt