Sir Thomas Higgons (1668-1733) was an English Jacobite. From 1713 to 1715 he was the

Jacobite Secretary of State The Secretary of State was one of the senior minister (government), ministers of the Jacobitism, Jacobite court in exile following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In common with Jacobite attempts to create a shadow court in exile that matched t ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, appointed by James Stuart to replace the long-serving

Earl of Middleton Earl of Middleton was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created 1 October 1656 for army officer John Middleton, together with the subsidiary title Lord Clermont and Fettercairn, also in the Peerage of Scotland. In 1674, he was succeed ...

Background

He was the second son of

Thomas Higgons Sir Thomas Higgons (c 1624 – 24 November 1691) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1687. Life Higgons was the son of Rev. Thomas Higgons, DD, rector of Westbury, Shropshire, ...

, a politician and diplomat, and through his mother Bridget, the grandson of the royalist commander Sir

Bevil Grenville Sir Bevil Grenville (23 March 1596 – 5 July 1643) was an English landowner and soldier who sat as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1620 and 1642, although during those years there were few parliamentary sessions. ...

. His younger brother Bevil Higgons became a writer. Denis Grenville was an uncle. The family were staunch supporters of James II. Higgons went into exile in France shortly after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

that overthrew James. In 1692 he crossed back to England with his two brothers to take part in the planned Jacobite uprising to coincide with the projected invasion of Britain, but these plans were wrecked by the French defeat at the

Battle of La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

. He served as a

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

at the exiled Jacobite court in Saint-Germain. From 1701 onwards he was

Gentleman Usher 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 ...

of the

Privy chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

to James III who had succeeded his father in Jacobite eyes.

Secretary of State

When the

stepped down as Secretary after twenty years, there was a desire to appoint a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

to demonstrate the tolerance of the Catholic James. Higgons was of a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

background. Higgons has been described as a figurehead, with actual power was exercised by the King's half-brother

Duke of Berwick Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...

.Szechi p.53 He was succeeded by the more prominent Henry St John who oversaw the

Jacobite Rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

References

Bibliography

* Cruickshanks, Eveline. ''The Stuart Court in Exile and the Jacobites''. A&C Black, 1995. * Melville, Henry Massue Ruvigny Et Raineval. ''The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Grants of Honour''. Genealogical Publishing, 2003. * Szechi, Daniel. ''1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion''. Yale University Press, 2006. 18th-century English people English Jacobites Jacobite Secretaries of State 1668 births 1733 deaths {{England-bio-stub