Sir William Highgate

Name Given at Birth: William Henry Highgate

Nicknames: Will, Billy Later title: Duke of Kent

Hometown or where you were born: Highgate Manor, near Maidstone, Kent, England

Current Residence: Highgate Manor

Age: 71—a young 71

Class: Nobility. Inherited the title of Earl of Kent age 18, when father died. Named Duke of Kent by Henry VIII in 1533 because of successes as his envoy to Prussia and Bohemia.

What do you do, your main function in life/society: Tending to my estate, Highgate Manor, including the vineyards, making fine wines and breeding fine horses. Earlier in life was king’s envoy to Prussia and to Bohemia. As Duke of Kent, must adjudicate and attempt to resolve conflicts among landowners throughout Kent. Privately, I also write sonnets & short plays.

Have you ever gone skinny-dipping / do you know how to swim: I know how to swim quite well. Skinny dipping has been only in the company of other males.

Do you make fun of people: Not unless I know them very well, and know it will be well received (and usually reciprocated).

Favorite Color: Green for the beautiful forests of the Cotswolds, and, in more recent years, emerald green for Esmerelda.

Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime: Certainly not! I am honest, though do drive a hard bargain.

Closest friends/How did you meet:

Martin Boleyn—we worked together in Prussia and Bohemia in some of my later trips as king’s envoy when King Henry VIII asked me to train Martin to also serve as envoy. I appreciated his wit, creativity, and political savvy, and invited him to visit at Highgate Manor and for his entourage to encamp on the grounds for a time. The gypsies held a revel to which Martin invited me to attend incognito, which is where I first saw Esmerelda singing and dancing. I became enamored of her, Martin introduced us, and the rest is history.

William Shakespeare—a frequent visitor at Highgate Manor. I also have secretly become his patron.

Leonardo da Vinci—first met on one of my trips to Italy. Leonardo has also visited Highgate Manor, but mostly our friendship has been by correspondence, exchanging ideas—he sometimes tells me his ideas for inventions for comment on their practicality. I am amazed at his intelligence, versatility, and excellence in so many different endeavors.

The Lord Mayor of Canterbury—As Canterbury is the largest city in the Duchy of Kent, as Duke of Kent I have frequent contacts with the Lord Mayor on political and legal matters. Esmerelda and I have become friends of the Lord and Lady Mayor, and stay with them during our visits to Canterbury.

Leopold Bloom—He also cultivates grapes & makes fine wines (& drinks them, too).

One Pillow or two: One is enough for anyone (except my wife, Esmerelda).

Pets: Horses and dogs.

Favorite Type of Music: The music at gypsy revels, especially by Esmerelda’s daughter, Leonora, whom I love as if she were my own. I have come to appreciate the creativity & expressive freedom of the gypsies’ music. I also am somewhat of a drummer, known to only a few people, and do sometimes drum at revels.

Hobbies/Pastimes: Training horses & dogs, tending my vineyards, making wines, & drumming.

Personal Hygiene: Good—I bathe once weekly, & keep my hands clean.

Favorite Food: Roast beef & Yorkshire pudding.

Are your parents alive, do you get along with them: My parents are both deceased, my father in a carriage accident when I was 18, but my mother several years after I married Esmerelda. They became great friends during our engagement, and my mother taught Esmerelda how to behave as a noble lady.

If your parents are dead, when and how did they die: My father died in a carriage accident, and my mother died in her old age peacefully & naturally.

Favorite place to relax: Along the Avon River near Stratford, in the Cotswolds, and also at the Scottish lochs, especially Loch Lomond & Loch Ness. (I have never seen a monster at Loch Ness.)

Favorite Holy Day / Why: Yule—I especially enjoy having the gypsies encamped at Highgate Manor, and having their joyous feasting, dancing and singing.

Favorite Drink: Malmsey wine, produced at Highgate Manor.

What's your bedtime: Whenever I get tired. Bedtime is highly varied. I often do my writing late at night, enjoying the peace & quiet when it is dark and most others are asleep.

What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet: Fine leather boots. Slippers in the evening at home.

Are you married or single: I have been married twice. First to a Prussian noblewoman, Gertrude Hohenstein. She & our only child died in childbirth. Now married to Esmerelda since 1562.

Do you have a family / who are they: As the only child of deceased parents, my only immediate family comes through having married Esmerelda. I have come to love them as much as if they were my own, and they have all accepted and "adopted" me as their "gaffer." (However, by the time Esmerelda and I were married, all of her children were old enough to be out of the home and to retain their gypsy identity; if they had been younger, they would have been adopted by me and raised as nobility at Highgate Manor.) I also have many cousins, some of whom come to Highgate Manor for extended stays.

Favorite Entertainment: Shakespeare’s plays, gypsies’ music at revels. (Because Esmerelda is a gypsy, I am welcomed when I am with her; also because we welcome the gypsies to encamp on the grounds of Highgate Manor.)

Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Languages. I speak German, French, & a little Spanish.

Least Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Astronomy.

Favorite Sport: Riding, fishing.

Most Humiliating Moment: When I was asked by a Spanish nobleman in court if I were married, & I tried to respond in Spanish. I said, "Si, soy cansado con mi esposa, Esmerelda," which would mean, "I am always tired of my wife." Realizing I had made an error, (for in Spanish, "cansado" means "tired;" "casado" means "married." (Also, "soy" is the Spanish form of the verb "to be" for permanent things, "estoy" for the temporary or uncertain.) I then made another serious error, saying, "Estoy casado con me esposa, Esmerelda," which would mean, "I am temporarily married to Esmerelda." At this point I stuttered and became speechless. Fortunately, my hosts understood that which I intended to say.

Proudest Moment: When I was knighted by King Henry VIII for negotiating alliances with Prussia & Bohemia. I was knighted because the alliances were particularly touchy: Albert Friederich of Prussia had become Lutheran. In Bohemia, Maximillian and (later) Rudolph II, though Catholic, ruled a people who were 2/3 Protestant. At the time, Spain was also attempting to make alliances with both Prussia & Bohemia which would have prevented the alliances with England. I persuaded both to ally with England.

Craziest Person or silliest you know: Martin Boleyn, Leopold Bloom, and Leonardo daVinci are in a dead heat for the title, each for somewhat different reasons, but all arising out of their multitudinous interests and creativity.

What do you look for in the opposite sex: Intelligence, humour, wit, social awareness, & beauty—exactly the attributes of Esmerelda.

In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, Who is your immediate "overlord?" The Queen.

Favorite Sport to watch: Contests of sheep dogs at work. The manner in which they respond to the shepherd’s voice & hand signals is most impressive.

Do you remember your first kiss: Yes, a maid of our manor. I was 15, she 20. I think she had designs on elevating her station in life by marrying me when I got older. I did not succumb to her charms, which were many.

Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends: Not many, because I have simply lived longer than most of them. But I have continued to make friends with many younger people (some would even be looked upon by others as "below" my class). This keeps me young at heart.

Where is your favorite "Vacation" spot: Canterbuy, especially for the Harvest Festival.

Have you ever been overseas: Yes, many times—to Bohemia, the Germanies, France, Spain, Greece, and Italy.

Do you have Dirt/Mud floors or Stone: Stone, of course, covered in many rooms with finely woven carpets; on the upper levels, the floors are of fine inlaid wood.

What is your bed made of: The finest goose down, on a beautifully carved bedstead.

How many people sleep in your bed: Two.

10 Things Everybody Should Know About Me:

1. As Duke of Kent, I often have to work to resolve disputes in the duchy. I am a peacemaker, but one who negotiates out of strength, sometimes with a little "arm twisting." I try to be fair to all parties, regardless of their station in life.

2. I write poetry, sonnets, & plays (none of them performed, though, under my name).

3. I am a patron & mentor of Shakespeare, & anonymously wrote a couple of the lesser plays his company performed. (Some rumors have circulated that I wrote several of the plays & sonnets attributed to him, but these are mostly untrue.)

4. I do some of my best work at night, at all hours.

5. I speak German, French, a little Spanish, & read Greek.

6. I grow grapes & make excellent wines. (Malmsey is my favorite.)

7. I am a juggler (in private, as this is not a typical pastime for nobility).

8. I have a droll sense of humour, & love a good joke or story, even upon myself.

9. I act on the surface as if I am more strait-laced than I really am. My outward persona is stern, stiff, serious & straightforward, but underneath I’m funny & even devious & devilish.

10. I particularly enjoy relaxing with Esmerelda’s gypsy family, and sometimes play the drums at gypsy revels.

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