Robert Henry King, 4th Earl of Kingston (4 October 1796 – 21 January 1867), styled The Honourable Robert King until 1837 and Viscount Kingsborough between 1837 and 1839, was an Irish peer, soldier and Whig politician.

Background and education

Kingston was the second but eldest surviving son of

George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (9 April 1771 – 18 October 1839), styled Viscount Kingsborough from 1797 to 1799, was an Irish nobleman. He was the son of Robert King, 2nd Earl of Kingston of Mitchelstown Castle, who he succeeded in 1799. ...

, and Lady Helena, daughter of Stephen Moore, 1st Earl of Mount Cashell. He was educated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

Military career

Kingston served in the British army in occupied France after the fall of the Emperor Napoleon.

Political career

Kingston was returned to Parliament for

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

in 1826 (succeeding his elder brother Lord Kingsborough), a seat he held until 1832. In 1836, he was High Sheriff of County Cork. He gained the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Viscount Kingsborough when he became heir apparent to the earldom on the death of his elder brother in 1837. He succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father in 1839.

Personal life

Lord Kingston was arrested on 30 March 1848 for "having indecently assaulted a young man named Cull, with intent to commit an unnatural offence" with a 20-year-old man he met on Oxford Street in London. When Cull resisted his advances, Kingston gave him money to buy a glass of ale at a nearby

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, and left quickly. Instead of buying the ale, Cull went to find a policeman, who followed and arrested Kingston. He was taken to

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

police station and held overnight. The next morning he appeared before a magistrate and was charged with indecent assault on the younger man—a

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

at that time—and was required to post bail in the astronomical amount of £10,000 (). The case was referred to a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

at the Central Criminal Court the following week, but the grand jury "ignored" the charge. Lord Kingston died unmarried in January 1867, aged 70. He was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother,

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Robert King, 4th Earl of 1796 births 1867 deaths 19th-century Irish LGBTQ people Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Earls of Kingston High sheriffs of County Cork

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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBTQ peers English LGBTQ politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs who inherited peerages British LGBTQ military personnel