The son of an admiral, King was also married to the daughter of Rear Admiral Sir John Duckworth KB, who adopted a protective stance towards his son-in-law. A month before Trafalgar, Duckworth entreated Nelson to take King’s ship Achilles under his Lordship’s command and so King duly joined Nelson’s fleet off Cadiz.

Born on 28 November 1774, he entered the Navy in 1788 and was made a post captain before he was twenty – like Nelson, he benefited from influential patrons. In 1797, King sat on the court-martial of Richard Parker who was primarily responsible for the mutiny at the Nore. From that year until 1802, he experienced much action as captain of the frigate Sirius (36). He captured two Dutch ships in October 1798 and shortly after claimed a six-gun French vessel and a Spanish brig as prizes. In 1801, in company with a sister ship, he captured a French frigate.

At Trafalgar, the Achilles was the seventh ship in Collingwood’s line and his first skirmish was squaring up to the Montanez, but his challenge was rejected. King went then to the assistance of the Belleisle, under fire from three enemy ships. Before doing so, however, he was obliged to engage the Argonauta, and the fierce encounter that followed inflicted heavy damage on both sides. After an hour, the Spanish ship broke off in an effort to sail clear and thwarted King’s attempt to assemble a boarding party. As the Achilles attempted to follow her, she was prevented from doing so by two French ships, L’Achille which passed on one side, and the Berwick on the other. King and his crew now engaged the Berwick in a further hour of intense firing, which ended with the Achilles forcing her opponent to strike her colours. In spite of such murderous activity, King whose ship had barely any superstructure remaining, would report only thirteen killed and fifty-nine wounded amongst his spent crew. A grateful government awarded him the naval gold medal and he also received a sword of honour from the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund.

Back on station in 1806, Captain King was involved in the capture of four French frigates off Rochefort when Commodore Sir Samuel Hood lost an arm. That year, he succeeded to the baronetcy of his father and then served in the Mediterranean, first as captain of the fleet to Sir Charles Cotton and then, following his promotion to rear admiral in 1812, as second-in-command to Sir Edward Pellew. In January 1815, he was made a Knight Commander of the Bath. Service promotions continued and he was made commander-in-chief in the East Indies in 1816. He became a vice admiral of the red three years later and took command at the Nore in 1833 before dying of cholera, whilst still serving, on 5 August 1834 in Sheerness.

IRG