John Wilson Croker (1780-1857): Irish Protestant politician and writer. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and called to the Irish Bar in 1802. In 1807 he was elected MP for Downpatrick and became Secretary to the Admiralty 1809–1830. He was a close friend of Wellington and, particularly, of Peel. Croker was a prolific writer of light verse and often acted as an intermediary between the government and the literary world – he played a key role in making changes to Southey’s early odes as Poet Laureate.

Thomas Peregrine Courtenay (1782-1841): Son of Henry Courtenay (1741–1803; DNB), Bishop of Exeter. He began his career as a junior clerk at the Treasury and remained an administrator even after he entered the House of Commons as MP for Totnes 1811–1832. He was a long-serving Secretary of the Board of Control of the East India Company 1812–1828. Southey corresponded with him about the poor laws in 1817 (Courtenay was a prolific pamphleteer) and sought his advice for the History of the Peninsular War (1823–1832).

Charles Gregan Craufurd (1761-1821): Distinguished army officer, who rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was the MP for East Retford 1806–1812. Southey corresponded with him about the History of the Peninsular War (1823–1832) and revised his inscription ‘For the Walls of Ciudad Rodrigo’ to commemorate the actions of Craufurd’s brother, Robert (1764–1812; DNB), who was killed when storming the city.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (1796-1817): The only child of the union of George, then Prince of Wales, and Caroline of Brunswick (1768–1821; DNB). Her parents separated at her birth and Charlotte was thereafter often used in their ongoing battles. She married Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (1790–1865) on 2 May 1816. They established their home at Claremont, near Esher, Surrey. She died in the early hours of 6 November 1817 after delivering a stillborn son and was buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor on 19 November.

(Samuel) Egerton Brydges, 1st Baronet (1762-1837): Poet, editor and bibliographer who issued neglected literary works from his private press. Brydges compiled ‘Censura literaria’, containing titles, abstracts, and opinions of old English books, with original disquisitions, articles of biography, and other literary antiquities (1805–1809). Southey, who shared his interest in English literary history, initiated a correspondence with Brydges in 1807.

Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (1770–1844): Burdett was descended from a long line of Midlands landowners and inherited a Baronetcy from his grandfather, Sir Robert Burdett (1716–1797) in 1797. He acquired further wealth from his marriage to Sophia Coutts (1775–1844), a banking heiress, in 1793. Burdett first entered Parliament in 1796 and was MP for Boroughbridge 1796–1802, Middlesex 1802–1804 and 1805–1806, Westminster 1807–1837 and Wiltshire North 1837–1844. He soon gained fame as an opponent of the war with France, a supporter of Radicals and an advocate of universal suffrage.

Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778–1868): The son of a Westmorland squire, Brougham grew up in Edinburgh and became one of the principal contributors to the Edinburgh Review. Brougham’s radical Whig opinions, expressed in the Edinburgh, provoked Scott and others into founding the Quarterly Review, for which Southey wrote scores of articles.

Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (1787-1871): Philanthropist and independently minded conservative MP for Devonshire 1812–1818, 1820–1831 and North Devon 1837–1857. He was a devoted supporter of the Church of England and friendly with Wilberforce. Southey first met him in London in 1817 and admired Acland’s character and (usually) his political conduct.

Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester (1757-1829): The Speaker of the House of Commons 1802–1817. He was responsible for the legislation that led to the first census in 1801. Through their mutual interest in statistics, he became Rickman’s patron and was responsible for appointing Rickman Secretary to The Speaker in 1802. Southey called him ‘Emperor of the Franks’ because he was able to take advantage, through Rickman, of Abbot’s privilege of franking mail for free.