James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle
Encyclopedia
Life
He was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask (a member of a younger branch of the Erroll family), and of Margaret Murray, cousin of George HayGeorge Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull
George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull was a Scottish nobleman.He served as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber from 1596, and was knighted around 1609. He was appointed Lord Clerk Register and a lord of session in 1616. He supported the five articles of Perth. He was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1622 to...
, afterwards 1st Earl of Kinnoull
George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull
George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull was a Scottish nobleman.He served as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber from 1596, and was knighted around 1609. He was appointed Lord Clerk Register and a lord of session in 1616. He supported the five articles of Perth. He was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1622 to...
.
He was knighted and taken into favor by James VI of Scotland, brought into England in 1603, treated as a "prime favorite" and made a gentleman of the bedchamber. In 1604 he was sent on a mission to France and pleaded for the Huguenots, which annoyed Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and caused a substantial reduction of the present made to the English envoy. On 21 June 1606 he was created by patent a baron for life, with precedence next to the barons, but without a place or voice in Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, no doubt to render his advancement less unpalatable to the English lords.
The king bestowed on him numerous grants, paid his debts, and secured for him a rich bride in the person of Honoria, only daughter and heir of Edward, Lord Denny
Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich
Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich , known as The Lord Denny between 1604 and 1627, was an English courtier, Member of Parliament and peer.-Life:...
. Their marriage was celebrated by Lord Hay's Masque
Lord Hay's Masque
Lord Hay's Masque was an early Jacobean era masque, written by Thomas Campion, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones. The masque was performed on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1607, in the Great Hall of Whitehall Palace...
, staged on 6 January 1607. In 1610 he was made a knight of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, and in 1613 master of the wardrobe, while in 1615 he was created Lord Hay of Sawley, and took his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. At this time, his first wife Honora was buried 16 August 1614 at Waltham Abbey. He was sent to France next year to negotiate the marriage of Princess Christina with Prince Charles
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...
, and on his return, being now a widower, he was made a Privy Councillor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, and in 1617 married Lady Lucy Percy (1599–1660), daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Henry was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements...
(the famous "Wizard Earl"), by his wife Dorothy Devereux.
In 1618 he resigned the mastership of the wardrobe for a large sum in compensation. He was created Viscount Doncaster, and in February 1619 was despatched on a mission to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where he identified himself with the cause of the Elector Palatine and urged James to make war in his support. In 1621 and 1622 he was sent to 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...
to obtain peace for the Huguenots from Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
, in which he was unsuccessful, and in September 1622 was created Earl of Carlisle
Earl of Carlisle
Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1322 when the soldier Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliament as Lord Harclay in 1321...
.
Next year he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on the occasion of Prince Charles's journey to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and again in 1624 to join Henry Rich
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
, afterwards Lord Holland, in negotiating the prince's marriage with Henrietta Maria, when he advised James without success to resist Richelieu's demands on the subject of religious toleration. On 2 July 1627 Lord Carlisle obtained from the king a grant
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
of all the Caribbean Islands, including Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, this being a confirmation of a former concession given by James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. He was also a patentee and councillor of the plantation of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and showed great zeal and interest in the colonies.
He became gentleman of the bedchamber to 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...
after his accession. In 1628, after the failure of the expedition to Rhe, he was sent to make a diversion against Cardinal Richelieu in Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
and Piedmont; he counselled peace with Spain and the vigorous prosecution of the war with France, but on his return home found his advice neglected. He took no further part in public life, and died in March 1636.
Carlisle was a man of good sense and of accommodating temper, with some diplomatic ability. His extravagance and lavish expenditure, his double suppers and costly entertainments, were the theme of satirists and wonder of society, and his debts were said at his death to amount to more than £80,000. He left behind him, says 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:...
, a reputation of a very fine gentleman and a most accomplished courtier, and after having spent, in a very jovial life, above £400,000, which upon a strict computation he received from the crown, he left not a house or acre of land to be remembered by.
His second wife, Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle
Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle
Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle was an English courtier known for her beauty and wit. She was involved in many political intrigues during the English Civil War.-Life:...
, was involved in many conspiracies, or allegations thereof, during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
The first earl was succeeded by James, his only surviving son by his first wife. James married Margaret Russell, third daughter of Francis Russell the Earl of Bedford, but James died without issue on 30 October 1660. At his death, the peerage became extinct in the Hay family.