him Prince of Wales and bestowed on him all the Lands Honours and Revenues belonging to the said Principality The Prince hath ever since been stiled Prince of Wales Duke of Aquitaine and Cornwall and Earl of Chester and Flint which Earldomes are alwayes conferred upon him by his Patent since the Union of England and Scotland his Title hath been Magnae Britanniae Princeps but more ordinarily the Prince of Wales As Eldest Son to the King of Scotland he is Duke of Rothsay and Seneschal of Scotland from his Birth The King of Englands Eldest Son so long as Normandy remained in their hands was alwayes stiled Duke of Normandy Antiently the Princes of Wales whilest they were Soveraigns bare quarterly Gules and Or 4 Lyons passant gardant counterchanged The Arms of the Prince of Wales differ from those of the King only by addition of a Labell of three points and the Device of the Prince is a Coronet beautified with three Ostrich Feathers inscribed with Ich dien which in the German or old Saxon Tongue is I serve alluding perhaps to that in the Gospel The Heir whilest his Father liveth differeth not from a Servant This Device was born at the Battel of Cressy by John King of Bohcmia as serving there under the King of the French and there slain by Edward the Black Prince and since worn by the Princes of Wales and by the Vulgar called the Princes Arms. The Prince by our Law is reputed as the same Person with the King and so declared by a Statute of Henry 8. Corruscat enim Princeps say our Lawyers radiis Regis Patris sui censetur una persona cum ipso And the Civilians say the Kings Eldest Son may be stiled a King He hath certain Priviledges above other Persons To imagine the death of the Prince to violate the Wife of the Prince is made High Treason Hath heretofore had priviledge of having a Purveyor and taking Purveyance as the King To retain and qualifie as many Chaplains as he shall please To the Prince at the Age of 15 is due a certain Aid of Moneys from all the Kings Tenants and all that hold of him in Capite by Knight Service and Free Socage to make him a Knight Yet as the Prince in nature is a distinct person from the King so in Law also in some cases He is a Subject holdeth his Principalities and Seignories of the King giveth the same respect to the King as other Subjects do The Revenues belonging to the Prince since much of the Lands and Demesnes of that Dutchy have been aliened are especially out of the Tinne Mines in Cornwall which with all other profits of that Dutchy amount yearly to the summe of The Revenues of the Principality of Wales surveyed 200 years ago was above 4680 l. yearly a rich Estate according to the value of Money in those dayes At present his whole Revenues may amount to Till the Prince come to be 14 years old all things belonging to the Principality oâ— Wales were wont to be disposed of by Commissioners consisting of some principal Persons of the Clergy and Nobility The Cadets or younger Son of England are created noâ— born Dukes or Earls of what Places or Titles the King pleaseth They have no certain Appanages as in France but onely what the good pleasure of the King bestows upon them All the Kings Sons are Consilii nati by Birth-right Counsellors of State that so they may grow up in the weighty affairs of the Kingdom The Daughters of England are stiled Princesse the eldest of which have an Aid or certain rate of Money paid by every Tenant in Capite Knight Service and Soccage towards her Dowry or Marriage Portion To all the Kings Children belong the Title of Royal Highness All Subjects are to be uncovered in their presence to kneel when they are admitted to kiss their hands and at Table they are out of the Kings Presence served on the Knee The Children the Brothers and Sisters of the King if Plaintiffs the summons in the Process need not have the solemnity of 15 dayes as in Case of other Subjects The Natural or Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the King after they are acknowledged by the King take precedence of all the Nobles under those of the Blood Royal. They bear what Surname the King pleaseth to give them and for Arms the Arms of England with a Bend Sinister border Gobionnee or some other mark of illegitimation Some Kings of England have acknowledged many and had more illegitimate Sons and Daughters King Henry the First had no fewer than sixteeen illegitimate Children Henry the Eighth amongst others had one by Elizabeth Blount named Henry Fitzroy created by him Duke of Somerset and Richmond Earl of Notingham and Lord High Admiral of England Ireland and Aquitain OF THE PRESENT KING OF ENGLAND THe King now raigning is CHARLES the Second of that Name His Name of Baptisme Charles in the German Tongue signifies one of a Masculine strength or vertue The Royal and also the most princely and antient Families of Europe at this day have properly no Surnames for neither is Burbon the Surname but the Title of the Royal Family of France nor Austria of Spain nor Stuart of England since the coming in of King James nor Theodore or Tudor for his 5 immediate Ancestors in England nor Plantagenet for 11 Generations before as some vainly think for although Geffery Duke of Anjou was surnamed Plantagenet from a Broom Stalk commonly worn in his Bonnet yet his Son H. 2. King of England was surnamed Fitz-empresse and his Son Richard Coeur de Lion So Owen Grandfather to King Henry 7. was ap Meredith and he ap Theodore pronounc'd Tyder Surnames being then but little in use amongst the Cambrobritans So Walter Father to Robert King of Scotland from whom our present King is descended was only by Office Grand Seneschal or High Steward or Stuart of Scotland though of later times by a long vulgar errour it hath so prevailed that they are accounted Surnames of many Families descended from him Steward is a Contraction from the Saxon word Stedeward that is in Latine Locum-tenens in French Lieu-tenant because the Lord High Steward was Regis Locum tenens a Name not unfit for any King who is Dei Locum tenens Gods Stuart or Lieutenant or Vicegerent upon Earth The King now raigning is Son to King Charles the Martyr and the Princess Henretta Maria Daughter of King Henry the Great of France from which two Royal Stocks he hath in his Veins all the Royal Blood of Europe concentred Is descended lineally and lawfully from the British Saxon Danish Norman and Scottish Kings and Princes of this Island From the first British King the 139th Monarch from the Scottish in a continued Succession for almost 2000 years the 109th from the Saxon the 46th and from the first of the Norman Line the 26th King So that for Royal
the Nobility or Bishops is made choice of by the Three States assembled in the name of the Infant King who by Nature or Alliance hath most Interest in the preservation of the Life and Authority of the Infant and to whom least benefit can accrue by his Death or Diminution as the Uncle by the Mothers side if the Crown come by the Father and so vice versa is made Protector so during the minority of Edward 6. his Uncle by the Mothers side the Duke of Somerset had the tuition of him and was called Protector and when this Rule hath not been observed as in the minority of Edw. 5. it hath proved of ill consequence If the King of England be Non compos mentis or by reason of an incurable disease weakness or old age become uncapable of governing then is made a Regent Protector or Guardian to govern King Edward 3. being at last aged sick and weak and by grief for the death of the Black Prince sore broken in body and mind did of his own will create his fourth Son John Duke of Lancaster Guardian or Regent of England If the King be absent upon any Foreign Expedition or otherwise which antiently was very usual the Custom was to constitute a Vice-gerent by Commission under the Great Seal giving him several Titles and Powers according as the necessity of affairs have required sometimes he hath been called Lord Warden or Lord of the Kingdom and therewith hath had the general power of a King as was practised during the Absence of Edward the First Second and Third and of Henry 5. but Henry 6. to the Title of Warden or Guardian added the Stile of Protector of the Kingdom and of the Church of England and gave him so great power in his absence that he was tantum non Rex swaying the Scepter but not wearing the Crown executing Laws summoning Parliaments under his own Teste as King and giving his assent to Bills in Parliament whereby they became as binding as any other Acts. Sometimes during the Kings Absence the Kingdom hath been committed to the care of several Noblemen and sometime of Bishops as less dangerous for attempting any usurpation of the Crown sometimes to one Bishop as Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury was Viceroy of England for many years and when Edward 3. was in Flanders though his Son then but nine years old had the Name of Protector John Stafford Archbishop of Canterbury was Governour both of the Kings Son and of the Realm Lastly Sometimes to the Queen as two several times during the absence of Henry 8. in France Of the QUEEN of ENGLAND THe Queen so called from the Saxon Konigin whereof the last syllable is pronounced as gheen in English it being not unusual to cut off the first Syllables as an Almes-House is sometimes called a Spital from Hospital She hath as high Prerogatives Dignity and State during the life of the King as any Queen of Europe From the Saxon times the Queen Consort of England though she be an Alien born and though during the life of the King she be femme covert as our Law speaks yet without any Act of Parliament for Naturalization or Letters Paâ—ents for Denization she may purchase Lands in Feesimple make Leases and Grants in her own Name without the King hath power to give to sue to contract as a femme sole may receive by gift from her Husband which no other femme â—overt may do Had anciently a Revenue of Queen Gold or Aurum Reginae as the Records call it which was the tenth part of so much as by the Name of Oblata upon Pardons Gifts and Grants c. came to the King Of later times hath had as large a Dower as any Queen in Christendome hath her Royal Court apart her Courts and Officers c. The Queen may not be impleaded till first petitioned shall not be amerced if she be nonsuited as all other Subjects are if she be Plaintiff the Summons in the Process need not have the solemnity of 15 dayes c. Is reputed the Second Person in the Kingdom The Law setteth so high a value upon her as to make it High Treason to conspire her death or to violate her Chastity Her Officers as Attourney and Sollicitor for the Queens sake have respect above others and place within the Barre with the Kings Council The like honour the like reverence and respect that is due to the King is exhibited to the Queen both by Subjects and Foreigners and also to the Queen Dowager or Widdow Queen who also above other Subjects loseth not her Dignity though she should marry a private Gentleman so Queen Katharine Widdow to King Henry the Fifth being married to Owen ap Theodore Esquire did maintain her Action as Queen of England much less doth a Queen by inheritance or a Queen Soveraign of England follow her Husbands condition nor is subject as other Queens but Soveraign to her own Husband as Queen Mary was to King Philip. Of the SONS and DAUGHTERS of ENGLAND THe Children of the King of England are called the Sons and Daughters of England because all the subjects of England have a special interest in them though the whole power of Education Marriage and disposing of them is only in the King The Eldest Son of the King is born Duke of Cornwall and as to that Dutchy and all the Lands Honours Rents and great Revenues belonging thereunto he is upon his Birth-day persumed and by law taken to be of full age so that he may that day sue for the Livery of the said Dukedom and ought of right to obtain the same as if he had been full 21 years of age Afterwards he is created Prince of Wales whose Investiture is performed by the Imposition of a Cap of Estate and Coronet on his Head as a Token of Principality and putting into his Hand a Verge of Gold the Emblem of Government and a Ring of Gold on hs Finger to intimate that he must be a Husband to his Countrey and Father to her Children Also to him is given and granted Letters Patents to hold the said Principality to him and his Heirs Kings of England by which words the separation of this Principality is prohibited From the day of his Birth he is commonly stiled the Prince a Title in England given to no other Subject The Title of Prince of Wales is ancient and was first given by King Edward 1. to his Eldest Son for the Welsh Nation till that time unwilling to submit to the yoke of strangers that King so ordered that his Queen was delivered of her first Child in Caernarvan Castle in Wales and then demanded of the Welsh If they would be content to subject themselves to one of their own Nation that could not speak one word of English and against whose life they could take no just exception Whereunto they readily consenting the King nominated this his new born Son and afterwards created
under him against the French King then leagued with the English Rebels against Spain where his Magnanimity and Dexterity in Martial Affairs though unsuccessful were very eminent In the year 1660 came over with the King into England and being Lord High Admiral in the year 1665 in the War against the Vnited States of the Netherlands commanded in person the whole Royal Navy on the Seas between England and Holland where with incomparable valour and extraordinary hazard of his own Royal Person after a most sharp dispute he obtained a Signal Victory over the whole Dutch Fleet commanded by Admiral Opdam who perisht with his own and many more Ships in that Fight He married Anne the eldest Daughter of Edward Earl of Clarendon late Lord High Chancellour of England by whom he hath had a numerous issue whereof are living first the Lady Mary born 30 April 1662 whose Godfather was Prince Rupert and Godmothers the Dutchesses of Buckingham and Ormond Secondly the Lady Anne born in Febr. 1664 whose Godfather was Gilbert Lord Archbishop of Canterbury her Godmothers were the young Lady Mary her Sister and the Dutchess of Monmouth She is lately for her health transported into France Thirdly 15 Sept. 1667 was born Edgar lately created Duke of Cambridge by Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England whose Godfathers were the Duke of Albemarle and the Marquiss of Worcester his Godmother the Countess of Suffolk The Titles of his Royal Highness are Duke of York and Albany Earl of Ulster Lord High Admiral of England Ireland and all Foreign Plantations Constable of Dover Castle Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Governour of Portsmouth c. Of the Prince of Orenge NExt to the Duke of York and his Issue is William of Nassau Prince of Orenge only Issue of the lately deceased Princess Royal Mary eldest Daughter to King Charles the First and wedded 1641 to William of Nassau Commander in Chief of all the Forces of the States General both by Land and by Sea His Highness the present Prince was born 9 dayes after his Fathers death on the 14th Novemb. 1650 had for Godfathers the Lords States General of Holland and Zealand and the Cities of Delft Leyden and Amsterdam His Governess was the Lady Stanhop then wife to the Heer van Hemvliet At 8 years of age was sent to the University of Leyden His Revenue is about 60000 l. Sterling besides Military Advantages enjoyed by his Father and Ancestors which amounted yearly to about 30000 l. Sterling more He is a Prince in whom the high and princely qualities of his Ancestors already appear Of the Princess Henretta THe next Heir after the fore-named to the English Crown is the Princess Henretta only Sister living to the present King of England She was born the 16th of June 1644 at Exeter during the heat of the late Rebellion after the surrender of Exeter conveyed to Oxford and thence 1646 to London whence with her Governess the Lady Dalkieth she escaped into France was there educated as became her high Birth and Quality but being left wholly to the care and maintenance of the Queen her Mother at Paris embraced the Romish Religion At the age of 16 years came with the Queen Mother into England and 6 moneths after returning into France was married to the only Brother of the French King the Illustrious Prince Philip then Duke of Anjou till the death of his Uncle and now Duke of Orleans whose Revenue is 1100000 Livres Tournois besides his Appanage not yet setled Her Portion was 40000 l. Sterling her Joynture to be the same with the present Dutchess Dowager of Orleans This Princess hath issue one Daughter if she hath a Son the French King allows him 50000 Crowns yearly and the Appanage after the death of the present Duke reverts to the Crown Of the Prince Elector Palatine THere being left alive no more of the Off-spring of King Charles the First the next Heirs of the Crown of England are the Issue and Descendants of Elizabeth late Queen of Bohemia only Sister to the said King who was married to Frederick Prince Palatine of the Rhine afterwards stiled King of Bohemia whose eldest Son living is Charles Lodowick Prince Elector Palatine of the Rhine commonly called the Palsgrave from the High Dutch pfaltzgraff Palatii Comes was born the the 22th December 1617 at Heydelberg and afterwards in Holland at the Hague and at the University of Leyden was educated in a Princely manner At the age of 18 years came into England was created Knight of the Garter about two years after fought a Battel in Westphalia In the year 1637 passing incognito thorow France to take possession of Brisach upon the Rhine which the Duke Saxon Weymar intended to deliver up unto him together with the Command of his Army he was by that quick-sighted Cardinal Richlieu discovered at Moulins and thence sent back Prisoner to the Bois de Vincennes whence after 23 weeks imprisonment he was by the mediation of the King of England set at liberty In the year 1643 he came again into England and with the Kings secret consent because the King could not continue unto him the wonted Pension whilst the Rebels possest the greatest part of his Majesties Revenues made his Addresses to and abode with the disloyal part of the Lords and Commons at Westminster until the Murder of the said King and the Restauration of the Lower Palatinat according to the famous Treaty at Munster for which he was constrained to quit all his right to the Upper Palatinat and accept of an Eighth Electorship at a juncture of time when the King of England had he not been engaged at home by an impious Rebellion had been the most considerable of all other at that Treaty and this Prince his Nephew would have had the greatest advantages there In 1650 he espoused the Lady Charlotte Daughter to the Landgrave of Hessen by which Lady he hath one Son named Charles aged about 16 and one Daughter aged about 14. Of Prince Rupert NExt to the Issue of the Prince Elector Palatin is Prince Rupert born at Prague 27 Novemb. 1619 not long before that very unfortunate Battel there fought whereby not only all Bohemia was lost but the Palatin Family was for almost 30 years dispossest of all their Possessions in Germany At 13 years of age he marcht with the then Prince of Orenge to the Siege of Rhineberg afterwards in England was created Knight of the Garter At the age of 18 he commanded a Regiment of Horse in the German Wars and in a Battel being taken by the Imperialists under the Command of Count Hatzfield he continued a prisoner above three years In 1642 returning into England and made General of the Horse to the King fights and defeats Collonel Sands near Worcester routed the Rebels Horse at Edge-hill took Cirencester recovered Lichfield and Bristol raised the long Siege before Latham House fought the great Battel at Marston Moor was created Earl of Holderness and
Duke of Cumberland after the extinction of the Male Line of the Cliffords Finally the Kings forces at land being totally defeated he transported himself into France and was afterward made Admiral of such Ships of War as submitted to King Charles the Second to whom after divers disasters at Sea and wonderful preservations he returned to Paris 1652 where and in Germany sometimes at the Emperours Court and sometimes at Heydelberg he passed his time in Princely Studies and Exercises till the Restauration of his Majesty now raigning after which returning into England was made a Privy Counsellour in 1662 and in 1666 being joyned Admiral with the Duke of Albemarle first attackt the whole Dutch Fleet with his Squadron in such a bold resolute way that he put the Enemy soon to flight He enjoys a Pension from his Majesty of 4000 l. per Annum After Prince Rupert the next Heirs to the Crown of England are 3 French Ladies Daughters of Prince Edward lately deceased who was a younger Son of the Queen of Rehemia whose Widdow the Princess Dowager Mother to the said three Ladies is Sister to the late Queen of Poland Daughter and Coheir to the last Duke of Nevers in France amongst which three Daughters there is a Revenue of about 12000 l. Sterling a year After these is the Princess Elizabeth eldest Sister living to the Prince Elector Palatin born 26 Decemb. 1618. unmarried and living in Germany The next is another Sister called the Princess Louisa bred up at the Hague with the Queen her Mother in the Religion of the Church of England at length embracing the Romish Religion is now Lady Abbess of Maubisson at Ponthoise not far from Paris Last of all is the Princess Sophia youngest Daughter to the Queen of Bohemia born at the Hague 1630. and in 1659 wedded to John Duke of Lunenberg and Free Prince of Germany Heir to the Dutchy of Brunswick by whom she hath Sons and Daughters Of these three Princesses it is said that the first is the most learned the second the greatest Artist and the last one of the most accomplisht Ladies in Europe Of the Great Officers of the Crown NExt to the King and Princes of the Blood are reckoned the Great Officers of the Crown whereof there are Eight viz. the Lord High Chancellour the Lord High Treasurer the Lord Privy Seal the Lord High Admiral the Lord Great Chamberlain the Lord High Constable the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Steward for the time being First the Lord High Chancellour Summus Cancellarius so called because all Patents Commissions Warrants coming from the King and perused by him are signed if well or cancelled if amiss He is after the King and Princes of the Blood in Civil Affairs the highest Person in the Kingdom as the Archbishop of Canterbury is in Ecclesiastical Affairs His Office is to keep the Kings Great Seal to judge not according to the Common Law as other Civil Courts do but to moderate the rigour of the Law and to judge according to Equity Conscience or Reason His Oath is to do right to all manner of People poor and rich after the Laws and Customs of the Realm and truly counsel the King to keep secret the Kings Counsel nor suffer so far as he may that the Rights of the Crown be diminisht c. From the time of Henry 2. the Chancellours of England have been ordinarily made of Bishops or other Clergy-men learned in the Civil Laws till Henry 8. made Chancellour one Richard Rich a Common Lawyer from whom is descended the present Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Holland since which time there have been some Bishops but most Common Lawyers This High Office is in France durante vitâ but here is durante beneplacito Regis The Salary from the King is 848 l. per Annum and when the Star-Chamber was up 200 l. per Annum more for his Attendance there The Lord Chancellour or Lord Keeper who differ only in Name is created per traditionem magni Sigilli sibi per dominum Regem and by taking his Oath The Great Seal being lately taken from Edward Earl of Clarendon Lord Chancellour was by his Majesties great favour bestowed upon Sir Orlando Bridgeman with the Title of Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England The next Great Officer of the Crown is the Lord High Treasurer of England who receives this high Office by delivery of a White Staffe to him by the King and holds it durante beneplacito Regis Antiently he received this Dignity by the delivery of the Golden Keys of the Treasury His Oath is little different from that of the Lord Chancellour He is Praefectus Aerarii a Lord by his Office under whose Charge and Government is all the Kings Revenue kept in the Exchequer He hath also the check of all the Officers any way emploied in collecting Imposts Customs Tributes or other Revenues belonging to the Crown He hath the gift of all Customers Controllers and Searchers in all the Ports of England He hath the nomination of the Escheators in every County and in some Cases by Statute is to appoint a Measurer for the length and breadth of Clothes He with others joyned in Commission with him or without letteth Leases of all the Lands belonging to the Crown He giveth Warrants to certain Persons of Quality to have their Wine Custom free The Annual Salary of the Lord High Treasurer is in all 383 li. 7s 8d per Annum Since the decease of Thomas Wriothesly last Earl of South-hampton and last Lord High Treasurer of England this Office hath been executed by a Commission granted to five eminent Persons viz. the Duke of Albemarle Lord Ashley Sir Thomas Clifford Sir Will. Coventry and Sir John Duncomb The Third Great Officer of the Crown is the Lord Privy Seal who is a Lord by his Office under whose hands pass all Charters and Grants of the King and Pardons signed by the King before they come to the Great Seal of England also divers other matters of less Concernment as for payments of money c. which do not pass the Great Seal He is by his Place of the Kings Privy Council and Chief Judge of the Court of Requests when it shall be re-continued and besides his Oath of Privy Counsellour takes a particular Oath as Lord Privy Seal His Salary is His Place according to Statute is next to the Lord President of the Kings Council It is an Office of great Trust and Skill that he put not this Seal to any Grant without good Warrant under the Kings Privy Signet nor with Warrant if it be against Law or Custom until that the King be first acquainted This great Officer is mentioned in the Statutes of 2 Rich. 2. and then â—anked amongst the Chief Persons of the Realm And is at present enjoyed by John Lord Robarts Baron Robarts of Truro The Fourth Great Officer of the Crown is the Lord
and that by reason of their Honourable Order and Employment and also to all Bannerets made under the Kings Banner or Standard displayed in an Army Royal in open War and the King personally present Note also That if any of the Degrees of Nobility above-mentioned are descended of the Blood Royal they are to have place of all those of the same Degree with them Moreover Observe that all the Nobles of the same Degree take place according to the Seniority of their Creation There are certain Marks of State that belong to each Degree amongst the Nobility which they may practise or not practise at pleasure A Duke may have in all places out of the Kings presence a Cloth of Estate hanging down within half a yard of the ground so may his Dutchess and her Train born up by a Baron and no Earl to wash with a Duke without the Dukes pleasure A Marquiss may have a Cloth of Estate reaching within a yard of the ground and that in all places out of the presence of the King or a Duke and his Marchioness to have her Train born by a Knights Wife and no Vicount to wash with a Marquiss but at his pleasure An Earl also may have a Cloth of Estate without Pendants but only Fringe and a Countess may have her Train born by a Gentlewoman out of the presence of her Superiours and in their presence by a Gentleman A Vicount may have a Cover of Assay holden under his Cup while he drinks but no Assay taken as Dukes Marquisses and Earls may have And a Vicountess may have her Gown born up by a Woman out of the presence of her Superiours and in their presence by a Man A Baron may also have the Cover of his Cup holden underneath whilst he drinketh and a Baroness may have her Gown born up by a man in the presence of a Vicountess All Dukes eldest Sons be as Earls and the younger as Lords with the addition of their Christian Names as Lord Thomas Lord John c. A Dukes eldest Son of the Blood Royal shall take place of a Marquiss that is not and of an Earl that is of the Blood Royal. A Marquisses eldest Son is called Lord of a place and the younger Sons Lord Thomas Lord John c. A Marquisses eldest Son of the Blood Royal shall go before an Earl that is not and of a Vicount that is of the Blood Royal. An Earls eldest Son is called Lord of a place and all his Daughters Ladies but his younger Sons not Lords An Earls eldest Son of the Blood Royal takes place of a Vicount that is not and of a Lord that is of the Blood Royal. A Vicounts eldest Son is no Lord nor his Daughters Ladies and therefore the eldest Son and the eldest Daughter of the first Vicount of England is said to be the first Gentleman and Gentlewoman without Title in England A Vicounts eldest Son of the Blood Royal takes place of all Barons The Princes of the Blood the Great Officers of the Realm and the Bishops are to precede according to an Act of Parliament 31 H. 8. The Lord Chancellour Lord Treasurer Lord President of the Kings Council Lord Privy Seal These being Barons or above shall in Parliament sit above all Dukes except the Son Brother Grand-Child or Nephew of the King The Lord High Steward of England is not here named because it was intended that he should not continue beyond the occasion for which he should be made Next hath place the Lord Great Chamberlain of England then the Lord High Constable the Earl Marshal the Lord High Admiral Lord Steward of the Kings Houshold Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold These shall sit after the Lord Privy Seal above all of their Degree only And if the Kings Principal Secretary be a Baron he takes place of all Barons that are not of the Offices before mentioned but if he be a Vicount or higher Degree he shall take place only according to his Degree Also if the Kings Secretary be a Bishop as antiently was usual he takes place next to the Bishop of Winchester of all other Bishops that have none of the Offices aforesaid All Dukes Marquisses Earls Vicounts and Barons not having any of the said Offices shall take place according to the antiently of their Creation All Dukes eldest Sons have the Title of Earls and the eldest Son of an Earl hath the Title of the Earls Barony and sometimes of the Vicountry according to the Patent A Catalogue of the Peers of England according to their Precedence Dukes of the Royal Blood JAMES Duke of York and Albany Earl of Ulster Lord High Admiral of England the Kings only Brother Rupert Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness Edgar Duke of Cambridge The Lord Chancellour or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal the Lord Treasurer and the Lord Privy Seal take place before all Dukes not of the Blood Royal. Dukes Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk William Seymour Duke of Somerset George Villars Duke of Buckingham Charles Stuart Duke of Richmond George Monk Duke of Albemarle James Scot Duke of Monmouth William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle Marquisses John Pawlet Marquiss of Winchester Edward Somerset Marquiss of Worcester Henry Pierrepont Marquiss of Dorchester Earls These three take place in respect of their Offices Bertue Earl of Lindsay Lord High Chamberlain of England James Butler Earl of Brecknock Lord Steward of the Kings Houshold Edward Montague Earl of Manchester Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold Earls Awbrey de Vere Earl of Oxford Algernon Percy Earl of Northumberland Francis Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury Anthony Grey Earl of Kent Charles Stanley Earl of Derby John Mannours Earl of Rutland Theophilus Hastings Earl of Huntingdon William Russel Earl of Bedford Philip Herbert Earl of Pembroke Theophilus Clinton Earl of Lincoln Charles Howard Earl of Nottingham James Howard Earl of Suffolk Richard Sacvile Earl of Dorset William Cecil Earl of Salisbury John Cecil Earl of Exeter John Edgerton Earl of Bridgewater Robert Sydney Earl of Leicester James Compton Earl of Northampton Charles Rich Earl of Warwick William Cavendish Earl of Devonshire Basil Fielding Earl of Denbigh George Digby Earl of Bristol Lionel Cranfield Earl of Middlesex Henry Rich Earl of Holland John Hollis Earl of Clare Oliver St. John Earl of Bullingbroke Mildmay Fane Earl of Westmorland Montague Earl of Manchester Thomas Howard Earl of Berkshire Thomas Wentworth Earl of Cleveland Edward Sheffield Earl of Mulgrave Thomas Savage Earl Rivers Bertue Earl of Lindsay Nicolas Knowles Earl of Banbury Henry Cary Earl of Dover Henry Mordant Earl of Peterborough Henry Grey Earl of Stamford Henage Finch Earl of Winchelsey Charles Dormer Earl of Caernarvon Montjoy Blunt Earl of Newport Philip Stanhop Earl of Chesterfield John Tufton Earl of Thanet William Wentworth Earl of Strafford Robert Spenser Earl of Sunderland James Savil Earl of Sussex George Goring Earl of Norwich Nicholas Leak Earl of Scarsdale John
Extraction and long Line of just Descent his Majesty now raigning excells all the Monarchs of all the Christian if not of the whole World Is the first Prince of Great Britain so born and hath in possession larger Dominions than any of his Ancestors He was born the 29th of May 1630. at the Royal Palace of St. James over which House the same day at Noon was by thousands seen a star and soon after the Sun suffered an Eclipse a sad presage as some then divined that this Princes Power should for some time be eclipsed and some subject signified by a star should have extraordinary splendor Was christened the 27th June following by the then Bishop of London Doctor Land Had for Godfathers his two Uncles Lewis the 13th King of France and Frederick Prince Palatine of the Rhine then called King of Bohemia represented by the Duke of Richmond and Marquiss Hamilton his Godmother being his Grandmother then Queen Mother of France represented by the Dutchesse of Richmond Had for Governess Mary Countess of Dorset Wife to Edward Earl of Dorset In May 1638 he was first knighted and immediately after he was made Knight of the Garter and installed at Windsor About this time by Order not Creation he was first called Prince of Wales and had all the profits of that Principality and divers other lands annexed and Earldom of Chester granted unto him and held his Court apart from the King At the Age of Eight he had for Governour the Earl afterwards Marquiss and now Duke of Newcastle and for Tutor or Preceptor Doctor Duppa then Dean of Christchurch after Bishop of Salisbury and lately of Winchester At the Age of 12 was with the King his Father at the Battel of Edge-hill and soon after at Oxford was committed to the care of the Marquiss of Hertford About 14 years old was in the Head of an Army in the West of England At the Age of 15 a Marriage was proposed between him and the Eldest Daughter of the King of Portugal the Infanta Joanna since deceased Two years after was from Cornwall transported to the Isle of Scilly and after to Jersey and thence to his Royal Mother to St. Germains near Paris In 1648 was at Sea with some Naval Forces endeavouring to rescue the King his Father then in the Isle of Wight out of the wicked hands of his rebellious Subjects Not many moneths after upon the sad News of the horrid Murther of his Royal Father he was in Holland first saluted King and soon after proclaimed in Scotland being not yet 19 years of Age. At the Age of 20 from Holland he landed in Scotland June 1650 and in January following was crowned at Scoon The 3d of September 1651 fought the Battel of Worcester whence after the unfortunate loss of his whole Army wandring in disguise about England for six weeks he was at length transported from a Creek near Shoram in Sussex to Fecam near Havre de Grace in France in which Kingdom with his Royal Brothers and divers English Nobility Clergy and Gentry he was for some years received and treated as King of England and by his mediations and interest with the Prince of Conde and Duke of Lorraine then in the Head of two great and mighty Armies against the French King quenched the then newly kindled fires of a great and universal rebellion against him much resembling that of England and was a means of recalling the then fled and banished Cardinal Mazarine After which in Germany Flanders Spain c. he passed the residue of his time in the Studies and Exercises most befitting a Prince in solliciting the Aid of Christian Princes and in advising and vigorously promoting the several attempts of his Friends in England until the year 1660 at which time being at Brussells within the Spanish Territories and perceiving a general inclination and disposition of all England to receive him he providently removed himself to Breda within the Dominions of the United Netherlands in the moneth of April and thence in May to the Hague from whence after a magnificent Entertainment and an humble Invitation by English Commissioners sent from the then Convention at Westminster he embarkt at Schevling the 23th of May 1660 and with a gallant English Fleet and a gentle gale of Wind landed the 25th at Dover and on the 29th following being his Birth-day and then just 30 years of Age he entred into London and was there received with the greatest and most universal Joy and Acclamations and Magnificence that could possibly be expressed on so short a warning On the first of June following His Majesty fate in Parliament and on the 22th of April 1661 rode in triumph from the Tower to Westminster on the next day being St. Georges was crowned with great Ceremony On the 28th of May following declared to his Parliament his Resolution to marry the Infanta of Portugal who accordingly in May 1662 being landed at Portsmouth was there espoused to the King by the then Bishop of London now Archbishop of Canterbury Of the present Queen of England DONNA CATHERINA Infanta of Portugal being Queen Consort of England and the Second Person in the Kingdom was Daughter of Don Juan the Fourth of that Name King of Portugal descended from our English John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and King of Castile and Jean Fourth Son of Edward the third King of England and of Donna Lucia Daughter of Don Guzman el bueno a Spaniard Duke of Medina Sidonia who was lineally descended from Ferdinando de la Cerde and his Consort Blanche to whom St. Lewis King of France her Father relinquisht his Right and Title to Spain descended to him by his Mother Blanche eldest Daughter and Heir of Alphonso the Spanish King She was born the 14th of November 1638 at Villa Vicosa in Portugal she was baptized Catherina signifying in Greek Pure her Father being then Duke of Braganza though right Heir of the Crown of Portugal the most potent Subject in Europe for a third part of Portugal was then holden of him in Vassallage and is only Sister at present of Don Alphonso the Sixth of that Name and 23th King of Portugal born 1643. Hath one Brother more called Don Pedro born 1648. Had another Brother called Don Theodosio the eldest Son of that King who was the most gallant and hopeful Prince of all Europe but died 1653 aged but 18 years yet his life thought worthy to be written by divers grave Authors of Portugal Having been most carefully and piously educated by her Mother and at the age of 22 desired in Marriage by King CHARLES the Second and the Marriage not long after concluded by the Negotiation of Don Francisce de Melo Conde de Ponte Marquis de Sande and then Extraordinary Ambassadour of the King of Portugal and solemnized at Lisbon She embarkt for England upon the 23th of April 1662 being the Festival of St. George Patron as well of Portugal as England and was safely
by the Earl of Sandwich conducted by a Squadron of Ships to Portsmouth where the King first met her and was remarried On the 23th of August 1662 her Majesty coming by water from Hampton Court was with great Pomp and Magnificence first received by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London at Chelsey and thence conducted by water to Whitehall The Portion she brought with her was Eight hundred Millions of Reas or two Millions of Crusado's being about Three hundred thousand pounds Sterling together with that important place of Tangier upon the Coast of Africk and the Isle of Bombaim neer Goa in the East Indies with a Priviledge that any Subjects of the King of England may trade freely in the East and VVest Indie Plantations belonging to the Portugueses Her Majesties Joynture by the Articles of Marriage is Thirty thousand pounds Sterling per Annum and the King out of his great affection toward her hath as an addition settled upon her 10000 l. per Annum more The Queens Arms as Daughter of Portugal is Argent 5 Scutcheons Azure cross wise each Scutcheon charged with 5 Plates or Besants Argent Saltier-wise with a Point Sable the Border Gules charged with 7 Castles Or. This Coat was first worn by the Kings of Portugal in memory of a Signal Battel obtained by the first King of Portugal Don Alphonso against 5 Kings of the Moors before which Battel appeared Christ crucified in the air and a Voice heard as once to Constantine the Great In hoc signo vinces before which time the Portugal Arms were Argent a Cross Azure Queen CATHERINE is a Personage of such rare perfections of Mind and Body of such eminent Piety Modesty and other Vertues that the English Nation may yet promise all the happiness they are capable of from a Succession of Princes to govern them to the end of the World Of the Queen-Mother THe Third Person in the Kingdom is the Queen-Mother or Dowager Henretta Maria de Bourbon Daughter to the Great King Henry the Fourth Sister to the Just King Lewis the Eleventh Wife to the Pious Martyr King Charles the First Mother to our Gracious Sovereign King Charles the Second and Aunt to the present Puissant King Lewis the 14th She was born the 19th of November 1609 married first at Nostre Dame in Paris by Proxy 1625 and shortly after in the moneth of June arriving at Dover was at Canterbury espoused to King Charles the First In the year 1629. was delivered of her First born a Son that died shortly after in 1630 of her Second our present Soveraign whom God long preserve in 1631 of her Third Mary the late Princess of Orenge a Lady of admirable Vertues who had the happiness to see the King her Brother restored 6 or 7 moneths before her death In 1633 of her Fourth James now Duke of York In 1635 of her Fifth named Elizabeth who being a Princess of incomparable Abilities and Vertues died for grief soon after the murther of her father In 1636 of her Sixth named Anna who died young In the year 1640 of her Seventh Child Henry of Oatlands designed Duke of Glocester who living till above 20 being most excellently accomplished in all Princely Endowments died four moneths after the Restauration of the King In the year 1644 of her Eighth the Lady Henretta now Dutchess of Orleans In the year 1641 her Majesty fore-seeing the ensuing storm of Rebellion and seeing the groundless Odium raised already against her self timely withdrew her self with her eldest Daughter then newly married to Henry Prince of Orange into Holland whence in 1643 after a most furious storm and barbarous fierce pursuit of the English Rebels at Sea she landed at Burlington Bay with Men Money and Ammunition and soon after with a considerable Army met the King at Edgehill and thence was conducted to Oxford In April 1644 marching with competent forces from Oxford towards Exeter at Abington took her last farewel of the King whom she never saw again In July following embarkt at Pendennis Castle she sailed into France where entertained at the Charges of her Nephew the persent King of France she passed a solitary retired life until the moneth of October 1660. when upon the Restauraution of her Son to the Crown of England she came to London and having settled her Revenues here she went again with her youngest Daughter the Lady Henretta into France to see her espoused to the then Duke of Anjou now of Orleans and in the moneth of July 1662 being returned into England she settled her Court at Somerset-House where she continued till May 1665 then crossed the Seas again and hath ever since continued in France her Native Countrey She needeth no other Character then what is found in the Seventh Chapter of that inimitable Book compiled by him that knew her best Of the present Princes and Princesses of the Blood Royal of England THe First Prince of the Blood in France called Monsieur sans queue is the Most Illustrious Prince James Duke of York Second Son to King Charles the Martyr and only Brother to the present King our Soveraign He was born Octob. 14. 1633 and forth-with proclaimed at the Court Gates Duke of York the 24th of the same moneth was baptized and afterward committed to the Government of the then Countess of Dorset The 27th of July 1643 at Oxford was created by Letters Patents Duke of York though called so by special command from his Birth without those Solemnities the iniquity of the times not admitting thereof that were used to the King his Father 1605 when being Second Son to King James and so Duke of Albany in Scotland was created Duke of York with the preceding Solemn Creation of divers young Noblemen to be Knights of the Bath and the Robes of State put upon him the Cap of State on his Head and the Golden Rod into his Hand the Prime Nobility and Heralds assisting at that Ceremony After the Surrender of Oxford his Royal Highness was in 1646 conveyed to London by the then prevailing disloyal part of the Two Houses of Parliament and committed with his Brother Glocester and Sister Elizabeth to the care of the Earl of Northumberland In 1648 aged about 15 was by Colonel Bampfield conveyed in a disguise or habit of a Girle beyond Sea first to his Sister the Princess Royal of Orenge in Holland and afterward to the Queen his Mother then at Paris where he was carefully educated in the Religion of the Church of England and in all Exercises meet for such a Prince About the Age of 20 in France he went into the Campagne and served with much Gallantry under that great Commander the Protestant Mareschal de Turenne for the French King against the Spanish forces in Flanders Notwithstanding which upon a Treaty between the French King and Cromwell in 1655 being obliged with all his retinue to leave the French Dominions and invited into Flanders by Don Juan of Austria he there served
Garter upon the Left Leg upon pain of paying 2 Crowns to any Officer of the Order who shall first claim it onely in taking a Journey a Blew Ribon under the Boot doth suffice Upon the Left Shoulder upon Cloak Coat or Riding Cassack in all places of Assembly when they wear not their Robes they are to wear an Escutcheon of the Arms of St. George that is a Cross with a Garter and this by an Order made April 1626. That Ornament and Embellishment about the said Escutcheon now worn and called the Star or rather the Sun in its glory was at the same time enjoyned The The greatest Monarchs of Christendome have been enrolled and have taken it for an Honour to be of this Order There have been of this Order since the Institution 8 Emperours 25 or 26 Forreign Kings besides many Soveraign Princes c. The Fellows and Companions of the Most Noble Order of St. George are at present these that follow ranked according as they are seated in their several Stalls at Windsor IN the first Stall on the right hand is the Soveraigne of the Order King Charles the Second who is Patron and Sole Disposer of the Order The Stall opposite to His Majesty is now void In the other Stalls on the Sovereign Side are thus placed these that follow 2 The Duke of York 3 Prince Rupert 4 Marquiss of Brandenbourgh 5 Earl of Salisbury 6 Earl of Northumberland 7 Duke of Buckingham 8 Earl of Bristol 9 Count Marsin 10 Earl of Sandwich 11 Duke of Richmond 12 Earl of Strafford 13th Stall is void On the other side opposite to these afore-named are placed in this Order these that follow 2 Prince Elector Palatine 3 Prince of Orenge 4 Prince of Denmark 5 Earl of Berkshire 6 Duke of Ormond 7 Duke of Newcastle 8 Prince of Tarent 9 Duke of Albemarle 10 Earl of Oxford 11 Earl of Manchester 12 Duke of Monmouth 13th Stall on this Side also is void The whole number of Fellows of this Order is not to exceed 26. In the next place are Knights Bannerets Equites Vexilliferi antiently a high Honour now obsolete there being at this time none of this Order in England These may bear Supporters of their Arms and none under this Degree Knights of the Bath so called of their Bathing used before they are created The first of this sort were made by Henry 4th Anno 1399. They are now commonly made at the Coronation of a King or Queen or Installation of 〈◊〉 Prince of VVales They weaâ— a Scarlet Ribon Belt-wise They are still made with much Ceremony too long here to be described Other Knights called Equites Aurati from the Gilt Spurs usually put upon them and Knights Batchelors quasi Baschevaliers Knights of lower Degree So Bachelors in Arts or Divinity quasi Low Knights or Servitors in Arts. These were antiently made by girding with a Sword and Gilt Spurs and was bestowed onely upon Sword men for their Military Service and was reâ—uted an excellent and glorious Degree and a Noble Reward â—or Courageous Persons but â—f late being made more common and bestowed upon â—own Men contrary to the â—ature of the thing as Degrees â—n the University are sometimes â—estowed upon Sword men it â—s become of much less reputaâ—ion Yet amongst Gown men 〈◊〉 is given only to Lawyers and â—hysitians and not to Divines â—ho may as well become that Dignity and be Spiritual Knights as well as Spiritual Lords These are now made with no other Ceremony but kneeling down the King with a drawn Sword lightly toucheth them on the Shoulder after which heretofore the King said in French Sois Chevalier au nom de Dieu and then Avances Chevalier When a Knight is to suffeâ— death for any foul Crime hiâ— Military Girdle is first to be ungirt his Sword taken away hiâ— Spurs cut off with an Hatchetâ— his Gantlet pluckt off and hiâ— Coat of Arms reversed Next amongst the Loweâ— Nobility are Esquires so called from the French word Escuyers Scutigeri because they were wont to bear before the Prince in War or before the better sort of Nobility 〈◊〉 Shield or else perhaps because they bear a Coat of Arms as Ensigns of their descent and by our Lawyers are called Armigeri Of this Title are first all Vicounts eldest Sons and all Vicounts and Barons younger Sons and by the Common Law of England all the Sons of Earls Marquisses and Dukes are Esquires and no more Next are the Esquires of the Kings Body mentioned among the Officers of the Kings Court after these are reckoned Knights eldest Sons and their eldest Sons for ever then younger Sons of the elder Sons of Barons next Esquires created by the King by putting about their Necks a Collar of Esses and bestowing on them a pair of Silver Spurs Lastly any that are in superiour Publick Office for King or State are reputed Esquires or equal to Esquires as Justices of the Peace Mayors of Towns so Councellours at Law Batchelors of Divinity Law or Physick although none of them really are so In the last place among thâ— lower Nobility are accounted the Gentry of England that have no other Title but are descended of antient Families that have alwayes born a Coaâ— of Arms. This Kind of Honour is derived from the Germans to the rest of Christendome and was never known in any Countrey where the German Customs were unknown as in Asia Africa and America The Germans antiently warring oft amongst themselves painted their Scutcheons with the Picture of some Beast Bird or other thing for distinction and put some eminent and visible Mark upon the Crest of their Helmets and this Ornament both of Arms and Crest descended by inheritance to their Children to the eldest pure and to the rest with some note of distinction such as the Old Master of Ceremonies in High Dutch Here-alt now Herald thought fit Gentlemen well descended and well qualified have alwayes been of such repute in England that none of the higher Nobility no nor the King himself have thought it unfitting to make them sometimes their Companions The Title of Gentleman in England as of Cavalier in France Italy and Spain is not disdained by any Nobleman All Noblemen are Gentlemen though all Gentlemen are not Noblemen The State of Gentry was antiently such that it was accounted an abasing of Gentry to put their Sons to get their Living by Shop-keeping and our Law did account it a disparagement of a Ward in Chivalry to be married to a Shop-keepers Daughter or to any meer Citizen for Tradesmen in all Ages and Nations have been reputed ignoble in regard of the doubleness of their Tongue without which they cannot grow rich for Nihil proficiunt nisi admodum mentiuntur as Tully observed and therefore amongst the Thebans no man was admitted to places of Honour or Trust unless he had left off trading ten years before So by the Imperial Laws a Tradesman is not capable of any