The Diary · Character

Sir George Carteret

The Navy's treasurer who must answer every urgent demand for money with the same bleak reply — no funds, no credit, no way to pay the fleet.

supporting

Also known as Sir G. Carteret, Carteret, George Carteret

First appearance: january 1659 60

As a supporting figure in The Diary, Sir George Carteret is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Hosts the first meeting of the Navy Officers and Commissioners.

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Carteret sits at the Admiralty table as the Crown's cashier, a courtier whose office makes him the human face of a bankrupt war effort. When Coventry presses him on the eleven-months' tax, his flat admission that bankers will not lend on it exposes the whole administration's paralysis. His helplessness in the face of Pepys's desperate letters gives the diary's middle stretch its grinding sense of a government running on empty.

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Character Web

19 connections

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Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Naval and Court Officials
Protagonist

+14 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the news of the impending naval battle throws the Board into…

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Relationships

Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich
professional · positive
They were high-ranking naval administrators and colleagues in the Royal Navy and… How this plays out →
Sir William Batten
professional · ambivalent
Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich
professional · positive
They were high-ranking naval administrators and colleagues in the Royal Navy and… How this plays out →

Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich
They were high-ranking naval administrators and colleagues in the Royal Navy and government, working closely on financial and logistical affairs.
Sir William Batten
They were both senior Navy Board officials, working together on naval administration but often at odds over policy and influence.
Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich
They were high-ranking naval administrators and colleagues in the Royal Navy and government, working closely on financial and logistical affairs.

Relationship notes

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In the story

Sir George Carteret appears across 39 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

July 1660
Hosts the first meeting of the Navy Officers and Commissioners.
December 1660
Discusses seamen's pay propositions with Pepys and other officers.
February 1660–61
Works with Pepys on letters to Parliament and attends private consultations with the Duke of York.
May 1661
Angry about naming of masters for the fleet; Pepys reports to him.
June 1661
Attends office meeting where they agree to write to the Duke of York about the office's lack of money.
September 1661
Involved in the coal shipment with Pepys and Sir R. Slingsby.
February 1661–62
Joins Pepys and others at the office to read the Duke's instructions.
March 1661–62
Naval administrator; involved in office business and discussions about Navy finances.
April 1662
Naval official; walks with Pepys, discusses office faults, and oversees pay at Portsmouth.
May 1662
Travels with Pepys, shares news of the Queen's arrival, and expresses anger at Mr. Coventry's appointment as Navy Commissioner.
June 1662
Carteret participates in office meetings and supports Pepys in the contract dispute.
September 1662
Pepys dines with him and notes his sprained foot.
June 1663
Naval official; Pepys informs him about Batten's corrupt tar dealings.
November 1663
Present with Pepys at Whitehall in the Matted Gallery.
January 1663–64
Pepys visits Auditor Beale's with him and Sir J. Minnes to review ledgers.
March 1663–64
Pepys briefly goes by water towards Deptford with him.
July 1664
Confides in Pepys about Lord Chancellor's anger over timber business and plots to serve Lord Sandwich.
September 1664
Meets with the office about hiring a house for himself.
November 1664
Naval official; promises to show the King a letter about the prize office commission.
April 1665
Dines with the Commissioners of Prizes at Captain Cocke's; harangues about Ticket abuse, frustrating Pepys.
May 1665
Subject of complaints about bad payments; Pepys speaks with him about business.
June 1665
Assists Pepys in securing Mr. Hater's release on bail; involved in a match between his eldest son and Lady Jemimah Montagu.
July 1665
Sends word about the agreement between Lord Sandwich and himself; Pepys visits him at Deptford.
August 1665
Hosts Pepys at Deptford, lends him a horse, and discusses marriage portion settlement.
December 1665
Carteret discusses office business with Pepys and informs him of Lord Sandwich's appointment as Ambassador to Spain.
February 1665–66
Faces public jeering and cries out about Sir W. Coventry's attacks; meets with Pepys and others about Navy debts.
April 1666
Pepys visits Lady Carteret and discusses her husband's troubled affairs.
May 1666
Ordered down to the Fleet with Sir W. Coventry.
July 1666
Pepys attempts to meet him at Whitehall but finds him gone abroad.
October 1666
Informs Pepys about the referral of Navy lists to a subcommittee.
November 1666
Pepys walks with Sir G. Carteret, who is displeased with Pepys's letter on the Navy's ill state, and shows him a cipher letter from Lord Sandwich.
March 1666–67
Discusses naval finances with Pepys and supports the decision against Carcasse.
April 1667
Shows discontent over naval administration and shares private plans for Lord Sandwich's return and a match for Lord Hinchingbroke.
May 1667
Treasurer of the Navy; dines with Pepys and discusses selling his place.
September 1667
Discusses the Chancellor's fall and Lord Sandwich's Wardrobe profits.
October 1667
Hosts dinners at his house for Navy officers regarding his accounts.
December 1667
Discusses the ruinous state of the kingdom with Pepys, noting the King's removal of able men from the Council and the Duke of Buckingham's dominance.
May 1668
Pepys goes to dine at his house but finds him not at home.
June 1668
Dines with Pepys and others regarding accounts.

Chapter companion notes

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