Archibald Armstrong (died March 1672), court jester, called "Archy", was a native of Cumberland, and according to tradition first distinguished himself as a sheep thief; afterwards he entered the service of James VI and I, with whom he became a favourite. At court When the king succeeded to the English throne, Armstrong was appointed court jester. His yearly fee in 1606 was £9-2s-6d. In 1611 he was granted a pension of two shillings a day. In February 1612 he was given clothes laced with silk, made by Lord Cranbourne's tailor. Armstrong had been born in Scotland and in July 1612 was made a denizen of England. His influence was considerable and he was greatly courted and flattered, but his success appears to have turned his head. He became presumptuous, insolent, and mischievous and was much disliked by the members of the court. James seems to have favoured him; indeed in August 1618, Armstrong got the monopoly on tobacco pipes. At the Newmarket races in 1612, he even tried to excite jealousy between James and Henry, Prince of Wales, by pointing out how more courtiers stayed with Henry once they were parted. Thereafter Henry's friends would always toss Armstrong in a blanket when they saw him. Armstrong attended the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate in 1613. He wore a crimson velvet coat with gold lace. Another fool at court Tom Durie was painted in a red costume with gold trim. In May 1617 Armstrong visited Scotland with the king. Accounts of a banquet in Edinburgh call him "Archibald Armstrong his Majesties pleasnt". At Aberdeen he and other courtiers including Edward Zouch, George Goring, and John Wolfgang Rumler were made burgesses of the town. That year it was reported that he had obtained a royal pension of £50 yearly for his Scottish kinsman, John of the Syde, (an Armstrong from Mangerton). The courtier and musician James Hudson thought if Armstrong, "that grave gentleman", had such influence then the Earl of Mar could do the same for him. In October 1618, it was reported that "Archy the Fool" had been banished from the court for misbehaviour. In 1623 he accompanied Prince Charles and Lord Buckingham in their royal marriage negotiations in Spain, where he was much caressed and favoured by the Spanish court and, according to his own account, was granted a pension. His conduct here became more