William Chiffinch

[1] Chiffinch followed his older brother, Thomas, into service as a royal servant and was a page of the backstairs to Queen Catherine of Braganza in 1662.

He succeeded to most of his brother's court offices upon Thomas' death in 1666, including being appointed Surveyor of the King's Pictures, page of the bedchamber and Keeper of the Privy Closet.

Chiffinch became indispensable to Charles II and was known for his mastery of intrigue; he handled the payments to the king from France under the Secret Treaty of Dover.

He was also involved in many court plots, particularly relating to the king's mistresses, and Charles often made use of Chiffinch's Whitehall and Windsor houses for liaisons.

[4] He continued his roles in the royal household under James II until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, after which he fell out of favour with the new regime owing to suspicions of Jacobitism.