Duke of Kent

“ They have insulted—PERSONALLY insulted—two-thirds of the gentlemen of England, and how can it be wondered at that they take their revenge upon them in the House of Commons? It is their only opportunity, and I think, by God! they are quite right to use it." Eventually, however, Parliament increased the Duke of Kent's annuity by L6000. The subsequent history of Madame St. Laurent has not transpired.
IV
The new Duchess of Kent, Victoria Mary Louisa, was a daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and a sister of Prince Leopold. ”

“ Faulkner, writing the year after the event, confirms this identification, insomuch that he says: “The lower apartments in the south-east part of the Palace, beneath the King’s Gallery, have been for some years occupied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose premature decease—eight months after the birth of his daughter—this nation has so recently and deeply lamented; and they are still the residence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess.” ”

“ The Duke and Duchess, with their baby daughter, removed from Kensington to Sidmouth to spend the winter of 1819-20. Returning home on a January day, with boots wet with snow, the Due caught a severe chill from playing with his baby, instead of changing his boots. [2] The illness developed into acute pneumonia, of which he died in January, 1820, leaving his wife a stranger in a strange land, hardly able to speak the English language, sole guardian of England's future Queen. The Duchess of Kent must have been a woman of considerable strength of character and power of will. ”

“ I shrink from suggesting that he would derive any satisfaction from the killing or wounding of the Duc de Montvillier.
Such a suggestion would border upon the preposterous, for Sir Harry was a Justice of the Peace of the County of Kent, and, as is very well known, crime amongst the J.P.'s of Kent is singularly and gratifyingly rare. They are a well-behaved and modest class of citizens, by nature gentle and diffident, in appearance mild and affable, pursuing their calm unbunkered way, the world forgetting, by the world forgot, as somebody so beautifully put it. ”

“ In September 1397, a few months after becoming earl of Kent, Thomas was made duke of Surrey as a reward for assisting Richard II. against the lords appellant; but he was degraded from his dukedom in 1399, and was beheaded in January of the following year for conspiring against Henry IV. However, his brother Edmund (1384–1408) was allowed to succeed to the earldom, which became extinct on his death in Brittany in September 1408. ”

“ But the poor, headstrong old King had one friend near him of whom he did not know. The faithful Earl of Kent loved his master in spite of his faults, and determined not to forsake him in the evil days which he knew must be at hand. In the guise of a poor man, Kent came [Pg 343] to the palace of the Duke of Albany, and persuaded King Lear to take him into his service.
One other devoted follower was also left to the King—his faithful Fool, or jester. The loving loyalty of this man never failed, and his deep attachment to his royal master was touching to see. ”

“ Kent beat all England in the Artillery Ground, in the presence of "their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Richmond, Admiral Vernon, and many other persons of distinction. How pleasing to reflect that those sunny holidays we enjoy at Lord's have been enjoyed by the people for more than a century past! ”

“ To make him even o'er the time he has lost.
Desire him to go in. Trouble him no more
Till further settling.
Cor. Will't please your Highness walk?
Lear. You must bear with me.
Pray you now, forget and forgive. I am old and foolish.
Exeunt. Manent Kent and Gentleman.
Gent. Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall was so
slain?
Kent. Most certain, sir.
Gent. Who is conductor of his people?
Kent. As 'tis said, the bastard son of Gloucester.
Gent. They say Edgar, his banish'd son, is with the Earl of
Kent
in Germany.
Kent. Report is changeable. 'Tis time to look about ”

“ The king, regardless of everything, forgetful of all save the terrific song which for centuries had led his people to the heights of endeavour, there to be crowned with death or victory, shut his eyes, threw his head back and sang with them. With a final outpouring of fervent wishes, the crowd saw him pass through the door, followed last of all by the white-headed old baron. The noise died away, and the palace gardens began to empty. The king looked around the room for Kent. ”

“ He stared in a kindly way at the king for a moment, as if expecting the latter to dispute, and then added, grimly, "If I were in your place, I'd not let this man Provarsk win so easily. I'd fight!"
"I would, if I knew how!" The king spoke impetuously.
"But you must have some friend who can assist you," suggested Kent. "Some man you can depend upon." ”

“ The isolation of Sussex is strikingly shown by its long adherence to the primitive paganism. Missionaries from Rome, under the guidance of Augustine, converted Kent as early as 597. For Kent was the nearest kingdom to the continent; it contained the chief port of entry for continental travellers, Richborough—the Dover of those days—and its king, accustomed to continental connections, had married a Christian Frankish princess from Paris. Hence Kent was naturally the first Teutonic principality to receive the faith. Next came Northumbria, Lindsey, East Anglia, Wessex, and even inland Mercia. ”

“ There was an intense stillness in the room as they eyed each other, Kent inflexible, the king distressed, and the chancellor open-mouthed at such uncompromising words. The old baron was the most affected and stood as if stupefied with astonishment. For a pregnant time he met Kent's stare and then suddenly chuckled in his throat with a queer, wise acceptance. He turned to the king and exploded, much as an explorer might have done on announcing a discovery. "Why, Karl! You've got a friend who is a man! By Saint Dominique! This is a man!" ”

“ Provarsk declared, contemptuously. "I'm doing it for my own good and no one's else."
"How do you propose to handle the king?" demanded Kent.
"He'll have to do what I want him to, for the simplest of reasons, that I shall have the people behind me. He'll get nothing! He can be king. That's enough for him." ”

“ Abruptly Kent scowled at him and stood erect. Almost resentfully, he said, "The princess requires no champion. She appears abundantly able to fight her own battles. Better, I might suggest, than some of those stalwarts around her."
Heedless of the chancellor's discomfiture, he walked around the desk and seated himself, with all the air of energy and business capability that dominated him when on guard. He folded the scattered papers, placed them in an envelope, put them back into the despatch box, and then brusquely turned toward the king. ”

“ Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favourites of the King, all through his brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent had too much sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from this world—once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the accession of Queen Elizabeth. ”

“ On 27 Dec. 1814 he married Lady Charlotte Leveson-Gower, the eldest daughter of George Granville, first duke of Sutherland, K.G. His father having succeeded to the title and estates of the dukedom of Norfolk on the death, on 16 Dec. 1815, of his cousin Charles, the eleventh duke, he, as heir, became known as the Earl of Arundel and Surrey. The Act of Catholic Emancipation having been passed in April 1829, the earl was the first Roman catholic since the Reformation to take the oaths and his seat in the House of Commons. ”

“ The king shook his head sadly.
"There are many who like me," he said; "but they fear Provarsk."
"Pooh!" Kent accompanied himself with a snap of his fingers.
"If His Majesty would run the risk of a war——" began the chancellor.
"Rubbish!" exclaimed Kent. "War, nothing! The thing to do is to beat him at his own game. See here, young man,—I beg Your Majesty's pardon—you've got to do it! You've got to be one of two things, a king or a coward. You've got to decide to-night, too, before the people of Marken know that you have been driven out by Provarsk. ”

“ Her age and the public want of taste ultimately decided her to give up the struggle. She had been patronised all along by the Duke of Devonshire. She had lost the whole of her savings, amounting to nearly 16,000l. She continued to give Shakespearean readings, and to receive a few remaining pupils in the new home to which, in 1850, she had retired at Bayswater. ”

“ Almost the first burst of that noble tide of passion, which runs through the play, is in the remonstrance of Kent to his royal master on the injustice of his sentence against his youngest daughter—‘Be Kent unmannerly, when Lear is mad!’ This manly plainness, which draws down on him the displeasure of the unadvised king, is worthy of the fidelity with which he adheres to his fallen fortunes. ”

“ Every day the King was sure to astonish those around him by some breach of Court conventionality, little or great. He was liable to strong likings and dislikings, and he took no pains to conceal his sentiments in either case. He seems to have had an affectionate regard for his young niece, the Princess Victoria, and a strong dislike to her {119} mother. The Duchess of Kent would appear to have had no particular liking for him, and she very much objected to be brought into familiar association with the sons and daughters of the eccentric sovereign. ”

“ The law of Wihtræd has no provision of the sort, and it is remarkable that in the proem to his dooms, which a king always declares to be made with the counsel, consent and license of his nobles, the word eádigan, the wealthy or powerful, twice occurs [312] , but not the word ealdormen. I therefore think it probable that Kent had no such officers at the commencement of the eighth century [313] . ”

“ The falling of one of the beams of the ceiling could scarcely have proven more startling to the three refugees by the fireplace. The king pivoted in his chair and faced Kent with a look of consternation. The princess, aghast, opened her eyes widely, and the chancellor, bristling with annoyance, jumped to his feet and roared loudly, "What business have you listening? Do you know whom you are addressing?"
To a man who, throughout his life, had been accustomed to see his hearers quail when he vented that tremendous roar, the effect was more than disappointing. ”

“ If weapon be drawn where men drink, and no harm be done; a shilling to the owner of the house, and 12 shillings to the king.
After a troublous time of encroachment from the side of Wessex, the kingdom of Kent had again a time of honour, if not of absolute independence, under king Wihtred (691-725) , who, in the preamble to his laws, is called the most gracious king of the Kentish folk (se mildesta cyning Cantwara) . His laws are mostly ecclesiastical. ”

“ Kent! Kent!"
They saw him, the man who loathed publicity, quail like a bashful youth, and saw the princess catch his hand and almost drag him toward the balcony. Then he seemed to recall something that must be done and braced himself, and strode forward. He stopped abruptly just inside the door and motioned to the king. The king smiled and stepped out, followed by the princess. Like the abrupt discharge of heavy guns the noise renewed as Kent followed them, and Von Glutz and Paulo, rigid, unmoved, came behind and took their posts in the background like watch dogs of state. ”

“ Kent leaned back and laughed quietly.
"Listen!" he said. "There are just two ways of reasoning with a man who tries to throw you out of your own house. If he is big enough to do it, grin and move. If he isn't, call for the police or take a club and chase him into the middle of the next block. It appears they were strong enough to put you out, so—here you are!"
"No, you are wrong," disputed the king. "It was not the people who caused me to leave. It was my cousin, Baron Provarsk, who wants to rule in my place, and who laughs and snaps his fingers at any idea of reform." ”

“ Kent had jumped across the platform and shouted into the announcer's ear: "Tell them the king has sent his agent to explain what the new conscription amounts to!"
In his gorgeous uniform the announcer again stepped to the front between the trumpeters, gestured them to stop and raised his hand for silence. "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" he called, and paused until the silence was absolute. "That His People may understand, His Majesty the King has sent to you his personal agent to explain more fully than could be done by royal decree the objects and effects of the new law. ”

“ When the old king was dying, he could not be made to understand how Caius and Kent could be the same person.—Shakespeare, King Lear (1605) .
Kent (The Fair Maid of) , Joan, only daughter of Edmund Plantaganet, earl of Kent. She married thrice: (1) William de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, from whom she was divorced; (2) Sir Thomas Holland; and (3) her second cousin, Edward, the Black Prince, by whom she became the mother of Richard II.
Kent (Margaret) , a handsome, proud woman, whose husband deserts her and lives in South America with a mistress, leaving her to support herself and child. ”

“ But he took no well-defined part in public affairs at home until he learned of Queen Mary's resolve to marry Philip of Spain. He regarded the step as an outrage on the nation's honour, but, according to his own account, never thought of publicly protesting against it until he received an invitation from Edward Courtenay [q. v.] , earl of Devonshire, to join in a general insurrection throughout the country for the purpose of preventing the accomplishment of the queen's plan. He cheerfully undertook to raise Kent. Help was vaguely promised him by the French ambassador. ”