The Wedding of Andy King & Craig McBlain: Full Circle for the King Family

This weekend a large contingent of the King family and many friends gathered at Killochan Castle in southwest Scotland to witness my brother Andy’s commitment in marriage to Craig McBlain! The setting at the castle was breathtaking. Restored to nearly its former glory with updated amenities, the 700 year old fortress shielded guests and staff from seasonably inclement weather. It also was a maze of stairways and secret rooms that were beckoning our young people to explore. Most of the wedding party stayed in the castle and surrounding cottages.

A formal room inside Killochan Castle

King family members present (missed dearly were Pam King and Spencer King)

King siblings present with Hayli Poisson

The Young Royals had a front row seat for the ceremony

Mia and Ida waiting for the ceremony to begin

Vasil and AJ rocking the “King tartan”

Andy and Franny

Mary and Karina share a moment

UPENN contingent with Cousin Penny and Moon

Young Royals with Moon, Vasil, Mia and Pops

King family with Andy & Craig

McBlain family including baby Millie (10 weeks)

It’s official !!

The Wedding of Andy and Craig: Welcome remarks by John Joseph King II - June 13, 2025

On behalf of the King family and the many friends that have come from all over for tomorrow’s celebration of Andy and Craig, we want to thank you, our new Scottish family and new friends for your warm welcome. We are grateful for your hospitality and good cheer. And what a beautiful setting!

The King family is here in force—nearly twenty of us, immediate family, a span from the eldest to the youngest of our clan. Some of the youngest have traveled all the way from Seattle for this occasion. I find myself, now, the eldest of our generation. It is a role that feels new and strange, as though the years have brought us full circle.

I offer a few words about the King family, especially for the McBlain clan. We are, above all, people of the water. Most of us make our homes near the sea; some still work on it. All of us are sailors, capable with boats, having learned these skills early. Our children grow up with the rhythm of the tide and the feel of a deck beneath their feet. Our family through marriage is now scattered across the map—America, England, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Canada, Greece, Bulgaria, West Bengal, India, and perhaps a few other places. But the roots of the King clan begin in County Clare, Ireland.

In late 1850, with crops failing and the family nearly starving, seventeen-year-old Patrick King made the difficult decision to leave. He set out with his widowed mother, Mary, and his young brothers, John and Thomas, seeking a new life in the United States. On February 21, 1851, the Kings stepped off the packet ship  “Lady Franklin,”  and took their first steps in America. 

They made their way to New Haven, Connecticut. There, young Pattie—as his mother called him—met and married Ann Hickey, another Irish immigrant. Together, they built a life: he as an oysterman, working the beds of Fair Haven for nearly forty years; she as a homemaker, raising their six children.

Seven generations have passed and today marks 174 years, three months, and thirteen days since Patrick and his family first set foot in America. Given this milestone, it feels especially meaningful to call this evening “The Return of the Kings,” as our ancestral home lies just a short journey to the SW from where we now stand.

So, let us all raise a glass to Andy and Craig with this wish—may their love and partnership bring us full circle. And also for both the King and McBlain clans: may our union be as strong as the sea and as lasting as the land beneath us. Cheers.