Gilbert Talbot

Sir Gilbert Talbot (–1695) was an English diplomat, who held offices in the Republic of Venice from 1634 to 1645, then Denmark-Norway from 1664 to 1666. He was Member of Parliament for Plymouth, from 1666 to 1679. During the 1642 to 1646 First English Civil War, he unsuccessfully negotiated with the Venetians to provide Charles I financial support. He returned to England in January 1645, and was knighted; he avoided involvement in the 1648 Second English Civil War, but was arrested for conspiracy in 1650. After his release, he joined Charles II in exile. Following the 1660 Restoration, he was appointed Master of the Jewel Office, and served as special Envoy to Denmark during the 1664 to 1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War. A long-time Stuart loyalist, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire by James II in 1688. After the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, he refused to swear allegiance to the new regime of Mary II and William III, and lost his positions as a result. He never married, and died on 23 July 1695.