"Norfolke & Marshall."
To the Kings Heralds,
and Pursuivts. of Arms.
During the exile of the Stuarts, Edmund Andros served in the army of Prince Henry of Nassau (Palfrey, iii. 127), and was faithful to their cause. His family indeed was eminent among the adherents of the King, as appears by the [pardon] granted 13th August, 1660, by Charles II. to the inhabitants of Guernsey. In it he declares that Amice Andros, Edmund his son, and Charles his brother, Sir Henry Davie, bart, and Nathaniel Darell, during the preceding troubles "continued inviolably faithful to his Majesty, and consequently have no need to be comprised in this general pardon." So also we learn by the monument to Elizabeth, mother of Sir Edmund, that she "shared with her husband the troubles and exile to which he was exposed for several years in the service of Charles I. and Charles II."[2]
Edmund Andros received his first considerable preferment by being made Gentleman in Ordinary to the Queen of Bohemia in 1660. He had undoubtedly been attracted to her service through the position of his uncle, Sir Robert Stone, who was Cup-bearer to that princess, and he was afterwards more closely allied to her friends in consequence of his marriage. Whether any part of his youthful years while he was a page in the Royal service, had been spent in her household or not, it is worthy of notice that as a young man Andros was in a position to acquire the accomplishments of a Court, and to behold Royalty in its most fascinating form.
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, was the only daughter of King James I. of England, and was born 19th August, 1596. She was married 27th Dec. 1612, to Frederick V., Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and Silesia, who was soon elected King of Bohemia, but lost all his possessions by the fortune of war. He died at Mentz, November 19th, 1632, having had thirteen children, of whom the best known were Prince Rupert, and Sophia, wife of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, mother of George I. of England.
The Queen of Bohemia had shared the exile and misfortunes of her English relatives, and returned to England, 17th May, 1661. She died February 13th, 1662, at London.
Historians have agreed in describing this princess as a most charming woman. Jesse (Court of England) writes thus: "Lively in her manners, affectionate in her disposition, and beautiful in her person; throwing a charm and a refinement over the social intercourse of life; she yet possessed with all these qualities, a strength of mind which never became masculine; talents which were never obtrusive, and a warmth of heart which remained with her to the end." "In prosperity modest and unassuming; in adversity surmounting difficulties and dignifying poverty, her character was regarded with enthusiasm in her own time, and has won for her the admiration of posterity." "In the Low Countries she was so beloved as to be styled 'the Queen of Hearts.'"
During her long widowhood, her chief adviser and friend was William, Earl of Craven, and it was to the sister of the chosen heir to a portion of the honors of this nobleman, that Edmund Andros was married, in 1671. It has been believed that the Earl of Craven was married to the Queen, and he was certainly one of the bravest and most honored gentlemen of his time.
In 1666, Andros was made Major of a Regiment of foot, which was sent to America. Duncan writes that Andros distinguished himself in the war against the Dutch, and was in [1672], "commander of the forces in Barbados and had obtained the reputation of being skilled in American affairs."
In February, 1671, Andros married Marie, oldest daughter of Thomas Craven of Appletreewick, co. York, and thus sister to the "heir in reversion to the Barony of Hamsted-Marshall." This match is a sufficient proof of the estimation in which he was held, as the lady was sister of the designated heir of the Earl of Craven, his former patron. The pedigree of the Cravens will be best understood by the annexed tabular statement.[3] The "Peerages" have left the matter obscure, but it has been rendered plain by some articles in "Notes and Queries" for 1868. The Earl of Craven, after the death of his brothers, entailed the Barony on his more distant cousins of Appletreewick, omitting the issue of his uncle Anthony Craven. At his death, April 9th, 1697, the title passed to William Craven, nephew of Lady Andros.