John Stanley

Sir John Stanley, King and Lord of Man and the Isles (c.1350 - 1414), the first of that name, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and titular King of the Isle of Man.

In 1405 he was granted the tenure of the Isle of Man under the title of King by Henry IV, which had been confiscated from the rebellious Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland.

The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom. It is a crown dependency which has its own laws, courts, and government. Originally a self governed people before Viking rule which lasted from 800 AD to 1266 AD, then passed on through Scottish rule. In 1290 we find king Edward I of England in possession of Man, and it remained in English hands till 1313, when Robert Bruce took it after besieging Castle Rushen for five weeks. Then, till 1346, when the battle of Nevilles Cross decided the long struggle between England and Scotland in England's favor, there followed a confused period when Man sometimes experienced English rule and sometimes Scottish.

By 1405, England had gained control of Mann and a grateful King Henry IV granted kingship of the Island to Sir John Stanley after his intervention at the Battle of Bosworth.

It was also on condition that Sir John Stanley pay homage to King Henry IV. Henry gave two Peregrine falcons to him and to every future King of England on his Coronation Day. Sir John's descendants ruled as Kings or Lords of Mann for 360 years until George III assumed the Lordship, while the presentation of two falcons continued up to the Coronation of George IV in 1822.

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