his moral courage and independent judgment, given the anti-Catholic feeling in the country, that he voted Not Guilty. This was the more notable since according to John Evelyn, of Stafford's extended family in the House of Lords, (eight of them in all), he was the only one to do so, Stafford being a man "not beloved by his family". He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1672. His father was already a fellow and was a generous benefactor of Society. On 20 June 1685, he was appointed Colonel of the Suffolk Regiment, which at the time was called the Duke of Norfolk's Regiment of Foot. He was created a Knight of the Garter in the same year. As a man "all-powerful in his Dukedom" he used his influence in the 1685 General Election to return members entirely loyal to the Crown (as his father had in 1673 when he found a safe seat at Castle Rising for Samuel Pepys). By 1688, however, he was on bad terms with James II, openly disapproving of the King's aggressive policy of Catholic championship. When asked to question his constituents on whether they favoured repeal of the Test Act, he replied bluntly that he knew that all those in favour of repeal would fit comfortably in one coach. When asked to replace the magistrates in his dukedom with more compliant ones he simply refused and prudently went to France, but returned in time to welcome the Glorious Revolution. He served as a Privy Councillor under William III and Mary II in 1689. At first, he refused to take the oath necessary to sit in the House of Lords, since although he had publicly conformed to the Anglican rite, it was no secret that he remained a Roman Catholic at heart; but after a few months, he subscribed to the oath. He continued to serve as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Norfolk and Surrey, and ex-officio colonel of the Berkshire Militia under William and Mary. The first HMS Norfolk was named after him. His private surgeon was Thomas Greenhill. Death A written account of the death of the 7th Duke of Norfolk, who died in London on Wednesday (O.S.) 2 April 1701 by his secretary Francis Negus. Family Ancestry Family tree References See also List of deserters from James II to William of Orange |- |- 1655 births 1701 deaths 16th-century English nobility 17th-century