Sir James Palmer (January 1585 – 15 March 1658) was an English Member of Parliament and

Chancellor of the Order of the Garter The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter is an officer of the Order of the Garter. History of the office When the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by Edward III of England, three officers were initial ...

Origins

He was the third surviving son of Sir Thomas Palmer, 1st Baronet of

Wingham, Kent Wingham is a village and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village lies along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London, and is close to Canterbury. History A settlement at Wingham has existed s ...

and the younger brother of Roger Palmer, MP.

Career

Well educated, he moved to court and by 1609 had become a servant of the Earl of Montgomery. Under his patronage he was elected a Member of Parliament for

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the River ...

in 1621. In 1622, he was appointed a

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

to King James I and in 1629 a

Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

to his son King Charles I, to whom he donated the

Wilton Diptych The Wilton Diptych (made ) is a small portable diptych of two hinged panels, painted on both sides, now in the National Gallery, London. It is an extremely rare survival of a late medieval religious panel painting from England. The diptych was p ...

. He purchased

Dorney Court Dorney Court is a listed building, Grade I listed early Tudor style architecture, Tudor manor house, dating from around 1440, located in the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England. It is owned and lived in by the Palmer family. Early hist ...

in Buckinghamshire from his wife's family in 1624. In 1626, he was elected a Member of Parliament for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, sitting until 1628. He was knighted by King Charles I in 1629, and, in 1631, entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

to study law. He deputised for

Sir Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Emp ...

from 1638 to 1641, following him as Chancellor in his own right. He was also an artist and miniature painter, an adviser to the royal collection (to which he gave the

), and governor of the Royal

Mortlake Tapestry Works The Mortlake Tapestry Works was established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake, then outside, but now in South West London, in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane. It produced lighter, if vastly more expensive, decoration for rooms than the previous ...

from 1638. His portrait of James I is in the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

collection, his portrait of the Earl of Southampton in the Fitzwilliam Collection, Cambridge and his portrait of the Earl of Northampton is in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

Marriages and children

He married twice; firstly to Martha Garrard, a daughter of Sir William Garrard of Dorney Court in 1614; and secondly, to Catherine Herbert, a daughter of

William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis KB (George Edward Cokayne. ''Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant'', Volume 6. G. Bell & sons, 1895. pg 295. – 7 March 1655Bernard ...

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

, Montgomery, and the widow of Sir Robert Vaughan of Llwydiarth, Montgomery, in 1625. His issue with Catherine Herbert included

Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, (3 September 1634 – 21 July 1705) was an English courtier, diplomat, and briefly a member of parliament, sitting in the House of Commons of England for part of 1660. He was also a noted Roman Catholic wr ...

, PC (3 September 1634 - 21 July 1700), husband of

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine ( ; – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she ...

, mistress to Charles II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, James 1585 births 1658 deaths Members of Gray's Inn English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1626 Chancellors of the Order of the Garter Younger sons of baronets People from Wingham, Kent 17th-century English knights Knights Bachelor