Endymion Porter was an English

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...

 diplomat and royalist

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

.

Life

He was descended from Sir William Porter, sergeant-at-arms to Henry VII

Henry VII of England

Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

, and son of Edmund Porter, of Aston-sub-Edge in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, by his cousin Angela, daughter of Giles Porter of Mickleton, in the same county.

He was brought up in Spain—where he had relatives—as page in the household of Olivares

Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares

Don Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel Ribera y Velasco de Tovar, Count-Duke of Olivares and Duke of San Lúcar la Mayor , was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. As prime minister from 1621 to 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform...

. He afterwards entered successively the service of Edward Villiers

Sir Edward Villiers

Sir Edward Villiers was an English politician, diplomat and office-holder.-Life:He was the eldest son of Sir George Villiers, by his first wife Audrey Saunders, making him half-brother to the court favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey and...

 and of Buckingham

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...

, and through the latter's recommendation became groom of the bedchamber to 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...

. In October 1622 he was sent to negotiate concerning the affairs of the Palatinate and the proposed "Spanish Match

Spanish Match

The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...

" of the Prince of Wales with the Infanta. He accompanied Charles and Buckingham on their foolhardy expedition in 1623, acted as their interpreter, and was included in the consequent attack made by Lord Bristol

John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol

John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol , was an English diplomat and a moderate royalist during the English Civil War.- Early career :...

 on Buckingham in 1626.

In 1628 he was employed as envoy to Spain to negotiate for peace, and in 1634 on a mission to the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 to the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand

Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand

Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Infante of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Archbishop of Toledo , and military...

. During the Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 Porter remained a constant and faithful servant of the king. He was with him during the two Scottish campaigns, attended him again on the visit to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in August 1641, and followed Charles on his last departure from London in 1642, receiving the nominal command of a regiment, and sitting in the Royalist parliament at Oxford in 1643.

He had, however, little faith in the king's measures. "His Majesty's businesses," he writes in 1641, "run in their wonted channel—subtle designs of gaining the popular opinion and weak executions for the up-holding of monarchy." His fidelity to Charles was of a personal, not of a political nature. "My duty and loyalty have taught me to follow my king," he declares, "and by the grace of God nothing shall divert me from it." This devotion to the king, the fact that he was the agent and protégé of Buckingham, and that his wife Olivia, daughter of John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Bramfield, and niece of Buckingham, was a zealous Roman Catholic, drew upon him the hostility of the opposite faction.

As member of the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

, in which he sat as member for Droitwich, he was one of the minority of 59 who voted against Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...

's attainder, and was in consequence proclaimed a "betrayer of his country." On February 15, 1642 he was voted one of the dangerous counsellors, and specially excepted from pardon on October 4 and in the treaties of peace negotiated subsequently, while on March 10, 1643 he was excluded from parliament.

Porter was also implicated in the army plot; he assisted Glamorgan in illegally putting the great seal to the commission to negotiate with the Irish in 1644; and was charged with having in the same manner affixed the great seal of Scotland, then temporarily in his keeping, to that of O'Neill

Owen Roe O'Neill

Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...

 in 1641, and of having incurred some responsibility for the Irish rebellion

Irish Rebellion of 1641

The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...

.

Towards the end of 1645, when the king's cause was finally lost, Porter abandoned England, and resided successively in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 and Antwerp, where he was reduced to great poverty, and the Netherlands. The property which he had accumulated during the tenure of his various appointments, by successful commercial undertakings and by favours of the court, was now for the most part either confiscated or encumbered.

He returned to England in 1649, after the king's death, and was allowed to compound for what remained of it. He died shortly afterwards, and was buried on August 10, 1649 at St Martin's-in-the-Fields, leaving as a special charge in his will to his sons and descendants to "observe and respect the family of my Lord Duke of Buckingham, deceased, to whom I owe all the happiness I had in the world." He left five sons, who all played conspicuous, if not all creditable, parts in the history of the time.

According to Wood, Porter was "beloved by two kings: James I. for his admirable wit and Charles I. for his general bearing, brave style, sweet temper, great experience, travels and modern languages." During the period of his prosperity Porter had gained a great reputation in the world of art and letters. He wrote verses, was a generous patron of Davenant

William Davenant

Sir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...

, who especially sings his praises, of Dekker

Jeremias de Dekker

Jeremias de Dekker or Decker was a Dutch poet.Dekker was born in Dordrecht. His father was a native of Antwerp, who, having embraced the reformed religion, had been compelled to take refuge in the Netherlands...

, Warmstrey, May

Thomas May

Thomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...

, Herrick

Robert Herrick (poet)

Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....

 and Robert Dover, and was included among the 84 "essentials" in Bolton's "Academy Royal."

He was a judicious collector of pictures, and as the friend of Rubens, Van Dyck, Daniël Mijtens

Daniël Mijtens

Daniël Mijtens , known in England as Daniel Mytens the Elder, was a Dutch portrait painter who spent the central years of his career working in England.-Biography:...

 and other painters, and as agent for Charles in his purchases abroad he had a considerable share in forming the king's magnificent collection. He was also instrumental in procuring the Arundel

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,...

 pictures from Spain.

Sources

• Life and Letters of Endymion Porter, by Dorothea Townshend (1897)
• article in the Dictionary of National Biography
  Dictionary of National Biography
  The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
  
  , by CH Firth
  Charles Harding Firth
  Sir Charles Harding Firth was a British historian.Born in Sheffield, he was educated at Clifton College and at Balliol College, Oxford...
  
   and authorities there cited
• Memoires, by D Lloyd (1668), p. 657
• Burton
  John Hill Burton
  John Hill Burton FRSE was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of "Life and Correspondence of David Hume", he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board , and Historiographer Royal ....
  
  's Hist. of Scotland (1873), vi. 346–347
• English Historical Review ii.531, 692
• Gardiner
  Samuel Rawson Gardiner
  Samuel Rawson Gardiner was an English historian.The son of Rawson Boddam Gardiner, he was born near Alresford, Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained a first class in literae humaniores. He was subsequently elected to fellowships at All Souls ...
  
  's History of England
• Lives of the Lords Strangford (1877), by E.B. de Fonblanque (Life and Letters)
• Anthony à Wood, Athenae Oxonienses
• Clarendon
  Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
  Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
  
  's History of the Rebellion
• State Papers and Calendar of State Papers; Calendar of Slate Papers: Dom. and of Committee for Compounding
• The Chesters of Chichele, by Waters, i.144–149
• Eikon Basilike, by Ed. Almack, p. 94

There are also various references, etc., to Endymion Porter in Additional Charters, British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

, 6223, 1633, 6225; Add. manuscripts 15,858; 33,374; and Egerton 2550, 2533; in the Hist. Manuscripts Comm. Series; Manuscripts of Duke of Portland, etc., and in Notes and Queries; also Thomason Tracts, Brit. Mus., E 118 (13).