Sir Robert Killigrew (1580–1633) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at various times between 1601 and 1629. He served as Ambassador to the United Provinces.

Life

Killgrew was born at Lothbury, London, the son of William Killigrew and his wife Margery (Mary) Saunders, daughter of Thomas Saunders of Uxbridge, Middlesex. History of Parliament Online - Robert Killigrew
/ref> In January 1591, he matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford at the age of 11. He travelled abroad in 1596 and may have become an official of the Privy Chamber in 1601. He was elected MP for St Mawes in 1601. Killigrew was knighted by

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

in 1603. In 1604 he was elected MP for Newport. It is possible that he travelled to Jamestown in 1604. His name appears in the Second Charter of Virginia as a backer. In 1606 he was appointed ambassador to the United Provinces. In June 1612, Killigrew was noted as "one of Carr's favourites" according to John Chamberlain. The following May, he was committed to the Fleet Prison for an unknown offence. Having become famous for his concoctions of drugs and cordials, he was at first suspected of complicity in the death of

Sir Thomas Overbury Sir Thomas Overbury (baptized 1581 – 14 September 1613) was an English poet and essayist, also known for being the victim of a murder which led to a scandalous trial. His poem ''A Wife'' (also referred to as ''The Wife''), which depicted the ...

in September 1613, but was subsequently officially exonerated. In 1614, Killigrew was elected MP for

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

. On 12 May that year, he was involved in an altercation in the House of Commons. In July, he was appointed Keeper of

Pendennis Castle Pendennis Castle (Cornish: ''Penn Dinas'', meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect aga ...

, Falmouth, and a JP that same year. He is recorded as fighting a duel with Captain Burton in 1618. In October that year he was appointed an Officer of Protonotary of Chancery, and in December the following year was mentioned favourably by Buckingham. In 1621, Killigrew was elected again MP for Newport. In 1622 he succeeded his father to become farmer of the profits from seals in King's bench and common pleas which was worth at least £560 a year. He was elected MP for Penryn and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in 1624. In 1625 he was elected MP for

. He was also appointed Ambassador to the United Provinces in September 1625, but this was not taken up by December that year. In 1626, he was elected MP for

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post office (now ...

in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for Bodmin and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was appointed Vice-Chamberlain to Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

in 1630. Killigrew was a knight of

Arwenack Arwenack, historically in the parish of St Budock, Cornwall, is a historic manor on the site of what is today the town of Falmouth. It was partly destroyed in 1646, and only a remnant survives today. It was long held by the Killigrew family, w ...

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English ...

. He died a wealthy man in 1633 in Bath, Somerset, with the probate of his will on 12 May.

Family

He married Mary Woodhouse of Kimberley, Norfolk, (1584–1656), and they had several notable children: # William Killigrew (1606–1695) #

Anne Killigrew Anne Killigrew (1660–1685) was an English poet and painter, described by contemporaries as "A Grace for beauty, and a Muse for wit." Born in London, she and her family were active in literary and court circles. Killigrew's poems were ci ...

(1607–1641), who married

George Kirke George Kirke (died 1675) was a Scottish-born courtier and Member of Parliament for Clitheroe. He was a son of George Kirke, a servant of James VI of Scotland. George Kirke senior was keeper of the chamber door to Prince Charles in Scotland at D ...

#Robert Killigrew (1611-1???) #

Thomas Killigrew Thomas Killigrew (7 February 1612 – 19 March 1683) was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England. Life Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert Killigrew ...

(1612–1683) # Henry Killigrew (1613–1700) #Elizabeth Killigrew (1615-1619) #

Catherine Killigrew Major-General Granville Elliott, 1st Count Elliott (7 October 1713 – 10 October 1759), was a British military officer who served with distinction in several other European armies and subsequently in the British Army. He fought at the Battl ...

(1618–1689), wife of Sir Thomas Stanley # Elizabeth Killigrew (1622–1681), wife of

Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon (1623–1699) was a Privy Counsellor of Ireland and held the office of Governor of County Cork. He was the sixth son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork by his second wife, Catherine Fenton. Upon his father's ...

, was a mistress of Charles II and bore him a daughter #Mary Killigrew (1623–1677), later wife of Sir John James, she has been confused in other biographies with Mary Sackville (1645–1679) (formerly Berkeley, née Bagot)--the widowed Countess of Falmouth—who was another mistress Mary, his widow, married Sir Thomas Stafford after 1633. History of Parliament Online - Thomas Stafford
/ref> She was a correspondent of

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Ch ...

.See Huygens's letters to Mary Killigrew here
'Woodhouse, Mary', Briefwisseling van Constantijn Huygens 1607-1687, Huygens ING

References

*''Dictionary of National Biography'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Killigrew, Robert 1580 births 1633 deaths People from Falmouth, Cornwall Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of England to the Netherlands 17th-century diplomats Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 Inmates of Fleet Prison Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Knights Bachelor