The name given to the secret advisers of George III in his attempts to restore the royal prerogative to its old position in the State. They were mainly Tories, though drawn from both parties, and their leader was the Earl of Bute.
King’s Prymer.
A book of the ritual of the Church of England, issued in 1545 by the authority of Henry VIII, and containing the Services for the Hours. It is the basis of all subsequent prymers, including those of Edward VI and Elizabeth.
Kingmaker, The.
The sobriquet of Neville, Earl of Warwick (1428-71), the most prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses.
Kinmont Willie.
The nickname of William Armstrong, the famous border raider. He was the hero of a celebrated rescue at the hands of the Lord of Buccleugh in 1596, having been captured by the English and confined in Carlisle Castle.
Kirke’s Lambs.
The troopers of Colonel Kirke, who was in command at Bridgwater after the suppression of Monmouth’s rebellion. Their barbarous treatment of their prisoners and of suspected adherents of Monmouth hardly fell behind the judicial cruelties of Jeffreys. Their name was ironically derived from the Lamb, their regimental badge.