Robert King

Following his sentence, King was not prohibited from working with children. In 2013, commenting after criticism for his taking part in a charity fundraising concert, King stated that he had ‘accepted my sentence, and have paid my debt to society’. In February 2019, one of King's victims – also a talented musician – wrote an article about the ongoing effects of his repeated sexual abuse by King (when the victim was between the ages of 12 and 15) and indicated that King has not expressed remorse.

Following a custodial sentence in 2007 for the sexual abuse of minors, typically young musicians he was mentoring, King made a return to the podium in 2009. Having recorded mostly for Hyperion Records prior to his conviction, since 2013 he has recorded for his own label, Vivat, whose debut recording, I Was Glad, reached number 1 in the UK Specialist Classical Albums Chart and was a finalist in the 2013 Gramophone Awards.

In 2007, King was convicted of fourteen charges of indecent assault for the sexual assault of five boys, three under the age of sixteen, between 1982 and 1995; he was acquitted on another charge. King received a custodial sentence of 3 years 9 months and was placed on the sex offenders' register for life. During the case, King denied the abuse, describing the boys as "absolute liars".

A published author and editor of many scores, principally of baroque music, King wrote a monograph on Purcell published in 1995, to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the composer's death in 1695. In 2010 and 2011, two volumes of English church music edited by King were published by Oxford University Press, joining nearly 100 other works he has edited from the Baroque and Classical eras.

As a youth, he was a member of the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge. He read music at St John's College, Cambridge and in 1980, while still a student, founded the period instrument orchestra The King's Consort. As conductor and artistic director of The King's Consort, King has made more than 100 recordings, mostly for Hyperion Records.

Founded in 1980 by Robert King, the period instrument orchestra and choir The King's Consort has made more than 100 recordings under King's direction, winning many international awards and selling more than 1,500,000 copies.

Robert King (born 27 June 1960 in Wombourne) is an English conductor, harpsichordist, editor and author. His career has concentrated on period performance of classical music, in particular from the baroque and early modern periods. In 2007, he was convicted of fourteen charges of indecent assault, some against minors, and jailed. Following his release, he resumed his musical career.