] "WITHIN a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the Bennets were particularly intimate. Sir William Lucas had been formerly in trade in Meryton, where he had made a tolerable fortune and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the King during his mayoralty. "

I have been told that in the time of GeorgeIII, an "address to the King" was a written suggestion that the king consider a certain person for a knighthood, or whatever honour. That doesn't mean that Sir William made the application himself; it was probably made on his behalf by someone else- perhaps by the Lord Lieutenant for the County, if Sir William had been Mayor of Meryton. Such suggestions almost always got acted upon only when there was money involved. In other words, Sir William bought his own knighthood. Given the fact that as soon as he had got it, he also bought himself a house in the country and started behaving like a real gentleman, it isn't surprising that his numerous offspring didn't have expectations of inheriting anything much. No wonder Charlotte was determined to marry and was willing to take the first person who asked her who had a decent income of his own.

I think such knighthoods were of the lower kind- I have never heard of someone who was Mayor been given a Baronetcy.

Does anyone know how Sir Joshua Reynolds got his knighthood? Or Sir Humphrey Davy?