User:Charltonmackrelllocal/sandbox

The Lyte family is one of considerably antiquity. In 1284, William de Lyte held a manor (now know as Lytes Cary) and the first reference to it as Lytes Cary was in 1333. The Lyte family held the estate until 1748, when it sold due to the family's debts.

The family has had members of prominence, this includes:

- Thomas Lyte

- Henry Lyte the botanist(1529 – 1607)

- Henry Francis Lyte (author of 'Abide With Me' and 'Praise My Soul The King of Heaven)

- Farnham Maxwell-Lyte

- Sir Henry Churchill Maxwell-Lyte

Lyte's Jewel
The 'Lyte Jewel' is an enamelled gold locket. The openwork cover, set with diamonds, bears the royal monogram 'IR' (Latin, Iacobus Rex) for King James, the first Stuart king of England, and contains within his portrait, by the miniature painter Nicholas Hillard.

The jewel was given by King James to Thomas Lyte (1568-1638) in appreciation of his gift of an illuminated pedigree which traced the King's ancestry back to the mythical founder of Britain. Lyte presented the pedigree to the King at the Palace of Whitehall in 1610 in the presence of the Prince of Wales and the court. A portrait of him, shown proudly wearing the jewel, was painted in 1611.

King James, the son of a Catholic, Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland, had succeeded to the throne of England in 1603. As a Protestant and the first Stuart monarch of England, he saw the political necessity to emphasize his ancient lineage not only through the Tudor line, but also through his Welsh ancestry back to the first king of the Britons. It is possible that Lyte, a relatively unknown member of the gentry, was encouraged by James' advisors to produce the genealogical table, and to present it with full publicity at court, as if spontaneously from a loyal subject.

The luxury goods brand Thomas Lyte is named after him in recognition of Lytes achievements.