(1819) Regia Insignia: Or, An Account of the King's Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners or Gentlemen at Arms

OK,

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

KING'S

HONOURABLE BAND OF

GENTLEMEN PENSIONERS, OR

BT W.

M. THISELTON,

Gentleman Pensioner in Ordinary

JLontion

to

His Majesty.

:

PRIMTED FOR SHERWOOD, NEELT, AND JOKES, PATERNOSTIR

ROW 5 AND

C.

CHAPPLE, PALL MALL.

1819.

r

st^.r-

UN 26

i35

i B

\

f-vt

f\

:J\\\

DEDICATION.

To His Royal Highness

THE PRINCE OF WALES, Regent of the United Kingdom, This Volume

With

is

dedicated

the profoundest respect and veneration for

his

of

many

princely virtues

warm attachment

ness's

Person

to

;

and

as a tribute

His Royal High-

;

By his

most

faithful Servant,

W. M. THISELTON.

,i

1

.::>

preface* -

^

1 HIS work

is

intended to develope the

nature and duties of the King's Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners, who are the immediate

Body Guards

of the

and the subject is treated at some length, because no writer, except

Sovereign

;

Pegge,* has hitherto gone into its origin and institution, and because it contains remanents of antiquity not unworthy of being redeemed from oblivion. * The author of the

Curialia, published 1784, and which has formed the ground work of the present volume.

PREFACE. In a work of formation is

is

where the

this sort,

in-

of so desultory a nature,

it

almost impossible to pursue any plan

which series

will

the subject

:

it

comprise

with a reference

within a regular therefore treated

is

each

to

reign

and

;

although by so doing some repetitions

may

occur,

it

is

the

means,

only

in

consequence of the scarcity of original documents, to bring under review the

whole of the information

relative to this

immediate branch of the Royal House* I have,

hold.

however, received con-

siderable assistance from the

Order Book,

kept by the Clerk of the Cheque addition to which, I

am bound

to

members '

me by

of the Band.

" '

"'

i

I beg

in

acknow-

ledge the kind assistance afforded several

:

it

,