Sir Edward Walker was an officer of arms

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...

 and antiquarian

Antiquarian

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

 who served as Garter King of Arms.

Early life

Walker was born in 1611 at Roobers in Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills , just below Over Stowey...

, Somerset, and entered the household of the great Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...

 Thomas Howard

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel KG, was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politician. When he died he possessed 700 paintings, along with large collections of sculpture,...

 in 1633.

Charles I

Walker was in almost constant attendance on King Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 during the Civil War as Clerk Extraordinary of the Privy Council, Secretary to the Council of War, Receiver General of the King’s Moneys and Secretary for War.

In 1635, Walker was made Blanch Lyon Pursuivant Extraordinary, in 1637 Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary

Rouge Croix Pursuivant

Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since the time of the Crusades...

, in 1638 Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary

Chester Herald

Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office of Chester Herald dates from the 14th century, and it is reputed that the holder was herald to Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. In the reign of King Richard II the officer was attached...

, in 1644 Norroy King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is one of the senior Officers of Arms of the College of Arms, and the junior of the two provincial Kings of Arms. The current office is the combination of two former appointments...

, and in 1645 Garter Principal King of Arms

Garter Principal King of Arms

The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...

, so that within less than eight years of entering the College he had attained the highest post.

His appointment as Garter followed shortly on his appointment as Secretary for War and Clerk Extraordinary of the Council, so that it is plain that Charles I thought highly of his abilities.

Charles II

Sir Edward Walker followed Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 into exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 and was with him constantly, not only as his Garter King of Arms but as Clerk of his Privy Council

Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)

The Clerk of the Privy Council is a civil servant in the government of the United Kingdom. He or she is the most senior civil servant in the Privy Council Office....

 at The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 in 1649 and at Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

 in 1655. He remained a Clerk of the Council after the King’s return from exile in 1660.

His loyalty was further proved by his adherence to Charles II throughout his exile, so that at the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 in 1660 he returned to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with the highest personal prestige. Sir Edward Bysshe, who had been intruded as Garter under the Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

 was removed from that office and Walker was restored to his post.

Augmentations of Arms

Walker then showed arrogance

Arrogance

Arrogance or arrogant may refer to:*Overbearing*Hubris...

 and asserted his claims — justified or unjustified — with so much obstinacy and anger

Anger

Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....

 that he threw away his reputation in a vain attempt to raise himself above control.

In 1646, he had possessed from Charles I a special warrant which empowered him to grant augmentations of arms, incorporating royal emblems, to the King’s loyal adherents and this power was confirmed to him by Charles II in 1660. Under this he made the well known grants to Mistress Lane and Colonel Carlos who aided Charles II in his escape, but his later use of it was said to be less scrupulous.

Exile of Charles II

When in exile with Charles II, without Earl Marshal and without colleagues, he had had all heraldic matters his own way. In 1662, however, Commissioners for the Office of the Earl Marshal were appointed and in 1664 the heralds submitted to them draft orders for the regulation of the College, based on those of 1568 but dealing with certain matters in more detail.

Dugdale, then Norroy, was probably behind these and Walker was said to have a great dislike for Dugdale. The Orders were made in 1668 and provided, among other things, for the registration of their grants by the Kings of Arms, but with this provision neither Walker nor Bysshe (who had been appointed Clarenceux) took any steps to comply.

Earl Marshal Howard

The Commissioners let matters go at that, but in 1672 Charles II revived the office of hereditary Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...

 in the Howard family, giving it to Henry Earl of Norwich, later Duke of Norfolk.

The new Earl Marshal was not a man to be trifled with, and very shortly made an order, said to have been drafted by Dugdale, with which he required Walkers compliance. Walker was so ill advised as to petition the Privy Council claiming a right to grant arms independently of the Earl Marshal’s control.

An adverse report was made on this claim, whereupon the King issued a Declaration of the Authority of the Earl Marshal over the heralds, overriding all Walker’s claims. Walker then obeyed, but the next year, encouraged by some small success, refused obedience to a command of the Earl Marshal’s.

The Earl Marshal, through his deputy, made a petition to the King referring to Walker’s insubordination and asking that he should be removed from office or otherwise severely punished.

Legacy

His long and faithful service saved him from punishment by the Earl Marshal's actions, but he was sharply reprimanded and threatened with removal from office if he did not obey. His spirit was broken, he obeyed and soon after, in February of 1677, he died.

In 1675, on the death of Shakespeare’s granddaughter Lady Barnard, he had bought New Place

New Place

New Place is the name of William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. Though the house no longer exists, the land is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust....

, The house which the poet had built for himself in Stratford-on-Avon. Walker was buried in Stratford Church, where a Latin epitaph on the wall of the Lady Chapel commemorates him. He had a good collection of manuscript

Manuscript

A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...

s, many of which had belonged to Sir William le Neve. Some of these he gave to the College of Arms in 1673, others he bequeathed to it and yet others to the Office of Garter.