Photograph of Lord Knollys: full-length portrait, in morning dress and top hat, sitting on a balustrade. Francis Knollys, first Viscount Knollys was a British courtier. He first entered royal service in 1862 when he became private secretary to the young Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII until his death in 1901 and continued to serve the next monarch, George V from 1901 until 1913. Both his father William Knollys and his sister Charlotte Knollys served in the Royal Household.