Sir Roger North
Baron North of Kirtling
as portrayed by Bill Tice
Roger North was born in 1530 at Kirtling in Cambridgeshire, then the house of his father, Edward. Sir Thomas North was his younger brother.
He completed his education at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and was then introduced to court life, which was at a early age. He excelled in tilting , and while still a youth, the young Princess Elizabeth, while at a tournament, tied around his arm a red silk scarf, which he cherished and wore throughout his life.
In 1555 he was elected Knight of the Shire of Cambridge, and sat in Parliament. Upon his fathers death in 1564, he took his seat in the House of Lords. He was among the Knights of the Bath, created at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and the same year, was one of the challengers at the Grand Tournament in Greenwich Park.
In 1568 he was elected alderman and free burgess of Cambridge , and along with the Earl of Sussex, was sent to Vienna to invest the Emperior Maximilian with the order of the Garter. On his return, he was commissioned to present unto her Majesty, by Archduke Charles, a portrait of the Archduke.
He was Appointed Lord-Leftenant and custos rotulorum of Cambridgeshire in 1569. In 1572, was one of the six and twenty peers whom were summoned to Westminster as judges on the trial of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who was ultimately condemned to death.
After being elected High Stewardship of Cambridgeshire, he departed on a special mission to the Court of Charles IX of France, and again the following year, where on the death of Charles IX, he was titled, "Ambassador Extraordinary" , with letters of congratulations to Henry III, and charged with the more delicate task of demanding a large measure of toleration for the Huguenots and renewing the Treaty of Bloise.
He was a master of the Italian Tongue which stood him in great favor with Catherine de'Medici and the King.
He purchased his house in 1577, the estate of Mildenhall in Suffix, and the following year the Queen paid a memorable visit to Kirtling. He entertained the Queen with a joust in the park, and within doors played cards with the Queen. Upon her departure North presented unto her a Jewel worth £120, then followed her to the end of her progress.
At the battle of Zutpen, North was wounded by musketshot, and with splended courage, mounted his steed and returned to battle with one boot on and one boot off to lead his men. This act awarded him with the title of "Knight Banneret ".
Upon his return to England in 1596 North was named "Treasure of the Household" and sworn a member of the Privy Council.
On December 3, 1600 Baron North quietly passed to his heavenly country.
Of him was said:
"There was none better to represent our state than my Lord North, who had been two years at Walsingham's house, four years in Leicester's service, had seen six courts, twenty battles, nine treaties, and four solemn jousts - whereof he was no mean part - a reserved man, a valiant soldier and a courtly person."
- Lloyd
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May 13, 2008
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