DYMOKE, Francis John Fane Marmion (1955-2023)
colinp
colinp
Richard R
News item from the Times of 22 Dec 2023:
E X T R A C T
Francis Dymoke, King’s Champion, dies aged 68
Holder of the archaic role to symbolically defend the monarch hoped his son would continue a family tradition unbroken for nearly 1,000 years
Tributes have been paid to the King’s Champion after he died aged 68.
Francis Dymoke, the 34th Lord of Scrivelsby and 8th of Tetford, was the holder of the prestigious title that has existed since 1066.
The holder rode into Westminster Hall on the day of coronation and challenge anyone who laid claim to the throne to a duel. More recently, the champion had borne the Royal Standard flag during coronations.
During Charles’s coronation, Dymoke carried the Royal Standard in the King’s procession and was led by peers from all four UK nations during the historic service.
Dymoke died on Monday [18 Dec 2023], Lincolnshire World reported. A cause of death has not been confirmed publicly.
…It is understood that the King will write personally to Dymoke’s widow, Gail, and their three children.
The honour of being the champion has passed down generations of family members and Dymoke had said he hoped his son, Henry, would be around for Prince William’s coronation. “I hope my son, Henry, will do the next coronation so our family can proudly say we’ve stood as the King’s Champion for 1,000 years,” he said.
As well as his ceremonial role, Dymoke worked as an accountant and later as a farmer, living in the Lincolnshire village of Scrivelsby.
Dymoke had had the title for only eight years, but he was King’s Champion at the most important of occasions this year. His father and the previous champion, Lt Col John Dymoke, died in 2015. He had served as Queen’s Champion when Elizabeth II took the throne in 1953.
“Before my father died in 2015, he left instructions on how to put in a claim and it was important to me to continue the history,” he said. “[It was] the one moment in my life that really matters.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/francis-dymoke-kings-champion-dies-aged-68-g8bh8rhpf
BREMENMURRAY
colinp
Francis Dymoke, King’s Champion who carried the Royal Standard at the Coronation in May – obituary
He described the coronation as ‘the most meaningful day’ of his life, but noted that his wife ‘might disagree’
Francis Dymoke, who has died aged 68, was a former accountant and Lincolnshire farmer who, at the Coronation of King Charles III on May 6 this year, was seen by millions of television viewers around the world leading the royal couple into Westminster Abbey carrying the Royal Standard as the King’s Champion – a ceremonial role that had been performed by members of his family since the reign of William the Conqueror.
Francis Dymoke’s 34th great-grandfather, Robert de Marmion, had been William of Normandy’s right-hand man in France. William was famously crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066, but it was only at the state banquet after the coronation of his wife Matilda, on May 11 1068, that the first King’s Champion donned his armour, rode into the banquet on his charger, threw down his gauntlet and challenged anyone who denied that William and Matilda were the rightful king and queen to trial by combat.
The family was given an estate in Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, and in 1350 a granddaughter of Robert de Marmion married Sir John Dymoke, bringing the Scrivelsby estate with her. For many centuries, the Lord of the Manor of Scrivelsby was called upon to don the family armour and take up the role of champion at coronation banquets.
The role continued into the 19th century. At the coronation of George III in 1761, John Dymoke rode the horse ridden by George II at the Battle of Dettingen. But at the coronation of George IV in 1821, the then champion, 20-year-old Henry Dymoke, did not own a suitable horse, so one had to be hired from Astley’s Circus.
Thereafter, perhaps understandably, the business of having a Dymoke ride in on a charger was abandoned. It was only in 1902, at the coronation of Edward VII, that the King’s Champion was again given an active role – though now as a standard bearer. In 1953 Francis Dymoke’s father, Lt-Col John Dymoke, acted as Standard-Bearer of the Union Flag at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
But an invitation to perform the role of Champion is no longer guaranteed; as Francis Dymoke acknowledged, he and his wife Gail did not “move in smart circles” and he had only met the new king, briefly, on two occasions. So while the first champion earned his role through long service to the king, Francis Dymoke, 34th Lord of the Manor of Scrivelsby, had to apply online to the Coronation Claims Office.
“I wrote along the lines that my family has done it since William the Conqueror,” he told the Telegraph in January, “and though I appreciate it’s not a right any more, it would be a good thing to be involved.”
There followed a nervous wait before his application was formally accepted in late April. But he was immensely proud when his invitation arrived, and conscious of the weight of history and family tradition: “When my father marched into [Queen Elizabeth’s] coronation carrying the Union Standard, Richard Dimbleby said: ‘This is Captain John Dymoke, whose family have been doing this nigh on 1,000 years’.”
After the ceremony he told The Daily Telegraph: “I was disappointed my part was over and done with so quickly, while also relieved I had managed it without tripping up. Relieved and immensely proud.”
The Coronation, he said, had been “the most meaningful day of my life, although my wife might disagree”.
Francis John Fane Marmion Dymoke was born on January 19 1955, the eldest of three sons of then Captain (later Lt-Col) John Dymoke, and Susan, née Fane. John Dymoke served with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment in Sumatra during the Indonesian nationalist uprising, in Malaya during the “Emergency” and as commander of 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment in Aden during the final stages of the British administration.
Most family possessions had been sold off after the family almost went bust in the 1870s, and by the time John Dymoke inherited Scrivelsby Court after the Second World War, most of the estate was tenanted, and the main building, which dated from the 16th century and was rebuilt in 1805, had deteriorated badly. It was demolished in 1956…..
Francis Dymoke was a popular member of the rural Lincolnshire community and supported many local good causes. He served as chairman of the Lincolnshire branch of the Prince’s Trust, for which he had volunteered for many years. He served on the board of the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire and as chairman of the Lincolnshire branch of the Country Landowners’ Association. An honorary Colonel of the county Cadet Force, he served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1999 and was a Deputy Lieutenant of the county.
He is survived by his wife Gail and by two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, to Rosie. In an interview after the Coronation he expressed the hope that his eldest son, Henry would be invited to perform the honours as King’s Champion at Prince William’s coronation, “so our family can proudly say we’ve stood as the King’s Champion for 1,000 years”.
Francis Dymoke, born January 19 1955, died December 18 2023
https:/www.maltagenealogy.com/LeighRayment/
Richard R
1. HENRY FRANCIS MARMION Dymoke b 1984 & succeeds his father, unm in DPB online
2. Thomas Antony Marmion b 1989, unm in DPB online
1. Emily Rachel Marmion b (twin) 1984. She m 2014, Sebastian H. A. NORMAN & has issue (Edward Rufus M[armion] b 29 June 2018 reg Q3 Camden and Oscar Andrew Francis b 6 April 2020 reg Q3 Camden)
S R Eglesfield
Richard R
Richard R
Francis Dymoke obituary
Farmer and king’s champion who upheld family tradition with a ceremonial role at the coronation but was not required to fight
A painting in the Royal Collection by Denis Dighton depicts Henry Dymoke, the “king’s champion”, dressed in full armour and a plumed helmet, riding into the Westminster Hall banquet held in 1821 to celebrate the coronation of George IV. He threw down his gauntlet three times, demanding that any challenger to the monarch step forward and fight to the death. None did.
More than 200 years later the king’s champion at Charles III’s coronation was Francis Dymoke, a Lincolnshire farmer and descendant of the same knight. Rather than riding in wearing armour, he processed in morning dress, bearing the royal standard. “I shall be one of about 50 people leading the King and Queen into Westminster Abbey,” he explained before the event.
The family have served as king’s champion for almost 1,000 years. Robert de Marmion, Dymoke’s 34th great-grandfather, had been William the Conqueror’s right-hand man in 1066. When the male line of Marmions died out in 1377 the office was fulfilled at Richard II’s coronation that year by Sir John Dymoke, who had married into the family.
The champion’s role was an essential part of every coronation. Although there is no record of anyone accepting the challenge, there was a street rumour in 1761 that Bonnie Prince Charlie was in London ready to challenge George III at his coronation.
If no one picked up the gauntlet the king drank wine in the champion’s honour from a gold cup, which was then handed to the champion to finish. It also became his to keep. A letter published in The Times in 1952 claimed that at one time the Dymokes owned 21 gold cups…
…For the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 the champion’s role was reinvented as standard bearer and undertaken by Francis Dymoke’s great-grandfather, Frank, who was also king’s champion at the coronations of George V and George VI. His father was queen’s champion in 1953.
There was no guarantee that Dymoke would play a role in 2023. He had to apply to the coronation claims office and wait “some agonising weeks” while his connection to those who had previously performed the role was considered…
…Francis John Fane Marmion Dymoke was born in 1955, the eldest of three sons of Lieutenant Colonel John Dymoke (obituary, March 31, 2015), who saw service in Sumatra, Malaya and Aden, and his wife, Susan (née Fane); his brothers are Philip and Charles…
…In 1992 his father handed over management of the Scrivelsby estate, which has been in the family since 1350, although the Tudor house is long gone…
…Dymoke married Rosie Goldingham in 1982, though the marriage was dissolved in 2003. In 2009 he married Gail Humphries…
…Gail survives him with the children of his first marriage, twins Emily and Henry, and Thomas. “I can only hope Henry is invited to take on the role of champion next time around,” Dymoke wrote recently. His own experience of the coronation had, he added, been “without question the most meaningful day of my life — although my wife might remind me that our wedding day was also fairly significant”.
Francis Dymoke, farmer and king’s champion, was born on January 19, 1955. He died after a long illness on December 18, 2023, aged 68
Henry W
Balmoral Castle
The King was represented by Mr. Toby Dennis (His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire) at the Memorial Service for Mr. Francis Dymoke (His Majesty's Champion) which was held in Lincoln Cathedral this afternoon.