John Willett Payne

Payne was born in 1752, son of Ralph Payne, Chief Justice of St Kitts and his wife Margaret née Gallwey. His elder brother Ralph Payne would later become Baron Lavington. Payne was educated at Dr. Bracken's Academy in Greenwich and later attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth to train as an officer. During this time he became friends with Hugh Seymour Conway, with whom he had a lifelong friendship and close naval partnership. In 1769 he left the academy to join HMS Quebec. Quebec served in the West Indies but after only a few months Payne moved to the ship of the line HMS Montagu before returning to Britain in 1773 aboard the sloop HMS Falcon. Payne briefly joined HMS Egmont but soon was attached to the large frigate HMS Rainbow for a cruise to the Guinea Coast. In 1775 he was back in England, where he passed for lieutenant aboard Egmont. ==American Revolutionary War==

With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, Payne joined HMS Bristol and participated in the Battle of Sullivan's Island under the command of Sir Peter Parker. Shortly afterward, Payne joined HMS Eagle in New York City to serve as Lord Howe's aide-de-camp. In 1777, Payne joined HMS Brune and the following year transferred to HMS Phoenix in which he participated in numerous coastal operations on the Eastern Seaboard. Payne returned to Britain aboard HMS Roebuck and in Britain served aboard HMS Romney. He impressed Commodore George Johnstone in this duty and in 1779 was made commander of the sloop HMS Cormorant. The following year, Payne was promoted to post captain and took over the prize frigate HMS Artois which he commanded in European waters. He was also embroiled in a scandal when he was accused of impressing Portuguese citizens out of merchant ships in the Tagus. In 1781, Payne sailed to the Jamaica station in HMS Enterprize and the following year took over HMS Leander. In Leander, Payne fought a duel with a much larger enemy ship in which both vessels were severely damaged. The identity of the other ship was never established, but Payne was given the 80-gun HMS Princess Amelia as a reward. At the war's conclusion, Payne returned to Europe and Princess Amelia was paid off. ==Royal service==

During the early 1780s, Payne had formed a friendship with the rakish heir to the throne, George, Prince of Wales. After acting as companion to Lord Northington on a Grand Tour of Europe in 1785, Payne returned to the service of the Prince as his private secretary and Keeper of the Privy Seal. Payne also ran the Prince's household and lent money to Lord Sandwich, who was obliged to obtain for Payne the parliamentary seat of Huntingdon, which he held from 1787 to 1796. During this period he was appointed captain of HMS Phoenix but never served at sea, drawing the pay whilst pursuing his other duties. Following the succession crisis of 1788 when King George III was struck down by porphyria, Payne was an active supporter of the Prince of Wales's regency. Payne corresponded closely with other supporters but also participated in the Prince's frequent and extravagant masques and entertainments. He also helped conspire in the Prince's illegal marriage to Maria Fitzherbert and was once rebuked by the Duchess of Gordon in the terms "You little, insignificant, good-for-nothing, upstart, pert chattering puppy" after being overheard making insulting comments about the Queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. ==French Revolutionary Wars==

The King's recovery, combined with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, called Payne to sea once more. He never married and had no children, however had been one of the lovers of Emma Lyons who later became Lady Hamilton. ==Notes==