Robert King was a supporter of the cause of protestant William III at a time when the majority of English families in Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim supported the cause of catholic James II. This resulted in the family being involved in a number of military conflicts.
As Robert King was unable to father children, in due course the King family estates and titles were to be inherited by his brother Jack King. However, Jack had brought scandal to the family, eloping to France with a servant from the Boyle house.
Jack King had since been accepted by the French Court and high society in France. The protestant King family were gravely concerned that Jack’s loyalties would now lie with the Pope should James II come to the throne. The family took legal action to disinherit Jack and Robert King changed his will to favour his uncle (Robert King).
Jack’s loyalties did in fact lie with James II and, supported by Catholic circles, he launched a successful legal action against the King family. He was granted the Munster estate and the title of Baron Kingston on Robert’s death.
The Boyle estate, however, remained the property of Robert’s uncle, as did the title of Baronet (an honour that entitles the holder to use the pre-fix of ‘Sir’).
With the accession of William III to the throne, Jack King, now a man of considerable wealth and power, returned his loyalties to the new king and the protestant faith. He did not pursue ownership of the Boyle estates and on Robert King’s death the estates and titles were passed to his uncle (Robert King), who was in turn succeeded by his son Henry King.
