George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington (1768–1831) was a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. His son, the seventh Viscount

George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington

George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington , was a British colonial administrator and courtier.Torrington was the son of Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington, and succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1831 at the age of eighteen. In 1847 he was appointed Governor of Ceylon, a post he...

, served as Governor of Ceylon between 1847 and 1850.

King William I of the Netherlands

William I of the Netherlands

William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....

 made the sixth viscount an Officer in the Military Order of William because of his command of , the ship that returned the king 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...

 from his exile in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The viscount was obliged to decline the appointment.