Dramatist. He gained fame as a 17th-century English dramatist and theatre manager who served on the court of King Charles II. He may have been better known for his humor. Born the fourth of nine children of Sir Robert Killigrew, a member of the House of Commons, and his wife Mary, he had a childhood in the English royal courts, being a page to King Charles I at about the age of thirteen. In 1641 he published two tragicomedies, "The Prisoners," "The Princess," and "Claracilla," both probably produced before 1636. During the English Civil War, he rallied with Charles II into exile as a royalist and a Roman Catholic to Paris, Rome, and Geneva. After the war, he returned to England and obtained a position in the royal court as the King's fool and jester. He became a notorious groom of the bedchamber and master of the revels at Court. In 1660, he was given money to form a national theater with his stage plays. In 1663, Killigrew built the original Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in London. Two Killigrew productions of his own "Parson's Wedding" in 1664 and again in 1672 were cast entirely with women. The National Gallery has several oil-on-canvas portraits of him, along with various collections of portrait drawings. A portrait by Anthony Van Dyke of him as a young widower and an unknown man hangs in Buckingham Palace. He married twice: First, to Cecilia Crofts in 1636, and after the birth of his son the next year, his wife died. His second wife was Charlotte van Hesse, whom he met in Holland while in exile with Charles II. According to information from Westminister Abbey, he has no monument or gravestone.
Dramatist. He gained fame as a 17th-century English dramatist and theatre manager who served on the court of King Charles II. He may have been better known for his humor. Born the fourth of nine children of Sir Robert Killigrew, a member of the House of Commons, and his wife Mary, he had a childhood in the English royal courts, being a page to King Charles I at about the age of thirteen. In 1641 he published two tragicomedies, "The Prisoners," "The Princess," and "Claracilla," both probably produced before 1636. During the English Civil War, he rallied with Charles II into exile as a royalist and a Roman Catholic to Paris, Rome, and Geneva. After the war, he returned to England and obtained a position in the royal court as the King's fool and jester. He became a notorious groom of the bedchamber and master of the revels at Court. In 1660, he was given money to form a national theater with his stage plays. In 1663, Killigrew built the original Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in London. Two Killigrew productions of his own "Parson's Wedding" in 1664 and again in 1672 were cast entirely with women. The National Gallery has several oil-on-canvas portraits of him, along with various collections of portrait drawings. A portrait by Anthony Van Dyke of him as a young widower and an unknown man hangs in Buckingham Palace. He married twice: First, to Cecilia Crofts in 1636, and after the birth of his son the next year, his wife died. His second wife was Charlotte van Hesse, whom he met in Holland while in exile with Charles II. According to information from Westminister Abbey, he has no monument or gravestone.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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