[1] The fifth son of James King Dean of Raphoe and his wife Anne Walker, he was educated at Eton and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1777, graduating B.A.
[4][5] Windham, a politician rather than an official, used King (an older Christ Church contemporary) as an intermediary with Greville in 1792, when entering a covert role.
[6] In 1794 Nepean moved on from the Home Office, leaving King the senior of the Under-Secretaries of State, and he started to plan for a future seat in Parliament.
From an initial task of dealing with correspondence, assigned at the end of 1794, he took on further duties as the Alien Office addressed intelligence needs and countered subversion.
[9] Port John, on King Island in British Columbia, was named after him by George Vancouver, who had served under his brother, Capt.