Sir Henry St George (27 January 1581 – 5 November 1644) was an English

Officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

. He was the third (but eldest surviving) son of the herald Sir Richard St George and his wife Elizabeth St John.

Life

He was born on 27 January 1581 at Hatley St George, Cambridgeshire. He entered the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

as Rouge Rose pursuivant-extraordinary in 1610 and was promoted to

Bluemantle Pursuivant Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior Officer of Arms, officer of arms of the College of Arms in London. The office is reputed to have been created by Henry V of England, Henry V to serve the Order of the Garter, but there is no ...

the following year, in which capacity he accompanied his father in his visitations of Derbyshire and Cheshire. Around 1614, he married

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, the daughter of Sir Thomas Dayrell of Lillingstone Dayrell, Buckinghamshire, with whom he had eleven children. He was promoted to

Richmond Herald Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms of the College of Arms in England. From 1421 to 1485, Richmond was a herald to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, and Henry, Earl of Richmond, ...

in 1616 and acted as

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

's deputy for a number of visitations between 1619 and 1623. In 1625, he was sent to France to bring

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''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 his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...

to England, and in 1627 he was sent to Sweden to invest

King Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

as a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

, on which occasion he was knighted by the Swedish king, and granted an

augmentation of honour In heraldry, an augmentation (often termed augmentation of honour or sometimes augmentation of arms) is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for som ...

consisting of the Swedish royal arms on a canton in his personal arms. Between 1633 and 1635 he acted as his father's deputy for the visitation of London, and in the reorganization of the College of Arms following his father's death, he was appointed

Norroy King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the River Trent, Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of ...

. In April 1639 he was suspended and fined by the

Earl Marshal Earl Marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

for forging his father's signature on a faked grant of arms, but he was restored with a pardon under the great seal a year later. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

he accompanied King Charles to Oxford, where he was appointed

Garter Principal King of Arms Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior king of arms and officer of arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The position has ...

to succeed Sir John Borough in 1644. He died at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, on 5 November 1644 and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral. His sons

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

became

Garters A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking f ...

in 1686 and 1703 respectively. Another son Richard became

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...

in 1660.

Arms

References

External links

NRA catalogue entry
1581 births 1644 deaths People from Cambridgeshire English heraldry English officers of arms

17th-century English people Garter Principal Kings of Arms {{heraldry-stub