Charles Trelawny

Major General Charles Trelawny, also spelt ‘Trelawney’, (1653 – 24 September 1731) was an English soldier from Cornwall who played a prominent part in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, and was a Member of Parliament for various seats between 1685 and 1713.
Trelawny began his military career in 1673, and held a number of senior commands under Charles II. Like many Tories, he initially backed the succession of James II in 1685, despite his Catholicism; his defection in 1688 illustrated the extent to which James had alienated his primary support base.
His elder brother, Sir Jonathan Trelawny, was one of the Seven Bishops whose prosecution and subsequent acquittal destroyed James’ political authority. Along with John Churchill, later Duke of Marlborough, Trelawny organised support within the army for the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, when James was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary, and Dutch son-in-law William of Orange.
Trelawny served in the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, before resigning his commission in 1692. He remained an MP, and acted as political manager in Cornwall and Devon for his fellow Cornishman, Sidney Godolphin, Lord High Treasurer from 1702 to 1710. A Hanoverian Tory who supported the succession of George I, he left Parliament in 1713, and lived quietly at home, where he died in 1731.