King's Advocate facts for kids
The King's Advocate was a special lawyer who worked for the King or Queen of England. When a Queen was ruling, this lawyer was called the Queen's Advocate. This important job was part of a group called the Law Officers of the Crown.
The King's Advocate mainly worked in the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England. These courts dealt with church laws and matters related to the church. In these courts, cases were argued by special lawyers called advocates, not barristers.
Over time, in the 1800s, many of the cases that used to be heard in the church courts were moved to other types of courts. These new courts included the Courts of Probate (which handled wills) and Divorce and Matrimonial Causes (which handled marriage breakups). Eventually, these duties moved to a part of the High Court of Justice called the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.
After Sir Travers Twiss, who was the Queen's Advocate, left his job in 1872, no one else was appointed to this position. So, the role of King's or Queen's Advocate became empty.
King's Advocate in British Colonies
The King's Advocate also played an important role in some British colonies and in special British courts set up in other countries. These were called extraterritorial courts. In these places, the main lawyer for the British Government was often called the King's Advocate, Queen's Advocate, or Crown Advocate.
For example, the main British Government lawyer for the British Supreme Court for China and Japan was called the Crown Advocate. The same title was used in Malta. In Cyprus, this lawyer was known as the King's Advocate. The lawyer who became the Attorney General of Sri Lanka was known as the King's Advocate or Queen's Advocate between 1833 and 1884.
List of King's and Queen's Advocates
Here is a list of some of the people who held the important job of King's or Queen's Advocate:
- This list is not complete for before the 18th century.
- 3 March 1609: Sir Henry (Martin) Marten
- 1625: Sir Thomas Ryves
- 25 July 1701: Sir John Cooke
- 13 January 1715: Sir Nathaniel Lloyd
- 26 January 1727: George Paul
- 23 April 1755: George Hay
- 11 September 1764: James Marriott
- 2 November 1778: William Wynne
- 6 November 1798: John Nicholl
- 1 March 1809: Sir Christopher Robinson
- 28 February 1828: Sir Herbert Jenner
- 18 October 1834: John Dodson (he was knighted on 29 October 1834)
- 5 March 1852: John Dorney Harding (he was knighted on 24 March 1852)
- 12 September 1862: Robert Joseph Phillimore (he was knighted on 17 September 1862)
- 27 August 1867: Travers Twiss (he was knighted on 4 November 1867)
