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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

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 Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

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 St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

in 1601. Killigrew was knighted by King James I 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 in September 1613, but was subsequently officially exonerated. In 1614, Killigrew was elected MP for Helston. 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,

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

, 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 Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

. 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 (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

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 in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

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 of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

in 1630. Killigrew was a knight of Arwenack in

. 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 (1607–1641), who married George Kirke #Robert Killigrew (1611-1???) # Thomas Killigrew (1612–1683) # Henry Killigrew (1613–1700) #Elizabeth Killigrew (1615-1619) # Catherine Killigrew (1618–1689), wife of Sir Thomas Stanley # Elizabeth Killigrew (1622–1681), wife of Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon, 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.See Huygens's letters to Mary Killigrew here
'Woodhouse, Mary', Briefwisseling van Constantijn Huygens 1607-1687, Huygens ING

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killigrew, Robert 1580 births 1633 deaths People from Falmouth, Cornwall Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of England to the Dutch Republic 17th-century English diplomats Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English justices of the peace 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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Knights Bachelor