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| Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Name | Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet |
| Birth date | 1774 |
| Death date | 1834 |
| Birth place | Portsmouth, Hampshire |
| Death place | Stonesfield, Oxfordshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet was a senior officer of the Royal Navy whose service spanned the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, reaching flag rank and presiding over important squadrons during the early 19th century. He was the son of a prominent naval officer, inherited a baronetcy, and exercised influence in naval administration and county affairs through marriage, estate ownership, and civic roles.
Born in 1774 at Portsmouth, Hampshire, he was the eldest son of Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet and his wife; his upbringing connected him to maritime circles centered on Portsmouth Dockyard, Spithead, and the naval communities of Southampton. His father’s career in the Royal Navy and ties to figures such as Admiral Sir John Jervis and contemporaries at Plymouth Dockyard helped shape his education and patronage network, linking him to naval families associated with Greenwich Hospital, Chatham Dockyard, and officers who later served at Trafalgar. The King family’s social sphere extended into Hampshire county society, networks with landed families at Winchester, connections to legal institutions at Middle Temple, and acquaintances among members of Parliament who represented naval constituencies like Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency) and Havant.
He joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman during the period of the French Revolutionary Wars and rose through the commissioned ranks amid the naval reforms prompted by the Glorious First of June (1794) and the shifting deployments of the Channel Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet. Service aboard ships assigned to stations such as the North Sea and the West Indies exposed him to operations influenced by commanders including Admiral Lord Nelson, Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, and Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (Royal Navy officer, born 1744). His career trajectory intersected with institutional developments at Admiralty offices in Whitehall and administrative practices shaped by the Board of Admiralty and the Naval Chronicle’s reportage. Promotions were effected during campaigns tied to the blockade strategy around Brest and the convoy protection operations that involved squadrons operating from Plymouth and Portsmouth.
As a captain and later commodore, he commanded frigates and ships of the line on stations confronting privateers in the English Channel and squadrons operating off the coast of Spain during the Peninsular War (1808–1814). His commands were part of coordinated efforts with squadrons under admirals such as Sir George Cockburn, Sir Edward Pellew, and Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy during coastal raids, convoy escorts, and support of amphibious operations linked to the Iberian Peninsula campaigns. Engagements included actions against French and Spanish naval units influenced by the outcomes of the Battle of Trafalgar, the blockade of Rochefort, and patrolling duties that intersected with anti-smuggling operations near Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Later sea commands involved deployments to the North America Station and administrative oversight comparable to roles held by contemporaries such as Sir Alexander Cochrane and Sir Henry Hotham.
He advanced to flag rank in accordance with seniority practices of the Royal Navy and received honors consistent with the period’s system of recognition, including investiture in the Order of the Bath as a Knight Commander. His promotions and decorations paralleled those conferred on officers like Sir John Duckworth and Sir James Saumarez and were processed through the Privy Council and the Chancery’s ceremonial machinery. His baronetcy succession linked him to the Baronetage of the United Kingdom and to landed gentry circles that often overlapped with recipients of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George and other contemporary distinctions.
He married into families with landholdings and political influence, forming ties with county elites in Oxfordshire and neighbouring shires such as Berkshire and Gloucestershire. His estate at Stonesfield brought him into local civic life alongside magistrates from Woodstock (Oxfordshire) and landowners with seats at Blenheim Palace and in parishes served by clergy of the Church of England. Social connections extended to patrons and benefactors frequenting clubs in London like the United Service Club and institutions such as the Royal Society and Greenwich Hospital alumni networks. Property management and rural patronage engaged him with agricultural improvements aligned with contemporary practices endorsed by societies like the Board of Agriculture and local improvement committees in Oxfordshire.
He died in 1834 at Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, after a long naval career whose administrative and command roles contributed to the operational continuities of the Royal Navy into the Victorian era. His legacy was perpetuated through the baronetcy succession, familial affiliations with other naval and political families, and local memorials in parish churches near Oxfordshire properties. Historical assessments of officers of his cohort appear in compilations alongside biographies of figures such as Lord Nelson, Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, and Sir Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, informing studies in naval history preserved at repositories including the National Maritime Museum, the British Library, and county record offices in Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
Category:Royal Navy admirals Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Category:1774 births Category:1834 deaths