King William I, known as 'Gleed Nickit Wull' because of a twist in the shape of his throat, was born about 1700, and died at Coldingham in 1784, aged around 84. He fathered 24 children by three wives.[43] His death at Colingham is recounted by William Smith, the Baillie at Kelso, who states that "When old Will Faa was upwards of eighty years of age, he called on me in Kelso, in his way to Edinburgh, telling me that he was going to Edinburgh to see the laird... before he died," and also that after successfully completing this visit "he only got the length of Colingham, when he was taken ill and died."[44] Will claimed to be descended from Johnnie Faa, Lord of Little Egypt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Gypsies#Charles_Faa_Blythe_I

NOTES Death of the Gipsy King. —Will died Kirk Yetholm, last week, in the ninety-sixth year of his age. Up to ... well to do in the old Border village. With Will the ancient gipsy name of Faa becomes extinct. The tribe have appointed a successor of the name of Blyth. At this moment there are about 120 gipsies resident or belonging to Yetholm. Their occupations consist ...

Published: Wednesday 20 October 1847 Newspaper: Dundee Courier County: Angus, Scotland

Now when anyone says ‘time immemorial’ that is, of course, another way of saying: from back before anyone can remember. Some claim the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries when the Gypsies first arrived in Scotland. Other date the establishment of a gypsy base at Yetholm to the seventeenth or even the eighteenth century. Certainly, in the 1800s, between fifty and a hundred and fifty Romani lived in the valley, many of the royal Faa family.

What all the authorities agree upon is that the first properly recorded Gypsy King of Yetholm, William I (Glee’d-Neckit Wull) floruit in the eighteenth century. It was his prerogative to wear the tin crown, to carry the gypsy sword of office (in the picture of queen Esther below) and, if later ritual was respected, he would have been made king with a hare tied around his neck (to represent his poaching ways) and a bottle of whisky broken over his head.

In 1784 King William I died. He was succeeded, however, by his son William II (Wull Faa) who passed away, full of years, in 1847. After a brief face-off with a pretender Charlie Blythe, Wull’s son-in-law became Charles I: Wull Fa had had no male issue. Charles I died in 1861 and there was a further civil war between two of his daughters. After some fish-wivery Queen Esther (Esther Faa Blythe) triumphed over Black-bearded Nell and ruled until 1883 when her son Charles II was crowned with tin. Charles II was the last king of the Gypsies and when he died in 1902 the office fell into abeyance. How could the good folk of Yetholm have let this happen?

Quite where this royal custom came from is a nice, nice question. Historians cannot even be sure when William I was crowned: is it possible that calling him the ‘king’ was just a manner of speech that accidentally hardened into an institution?

However, there are some hints that an institution predated the Faa line at Yetholm. Billy Marshall (obit 1792) was referred to as the King of the Gypsies in Galloway, whereas back in the sixteenth century the Scottish king recognised an Earl of Little Egypt (i.e. Earl over the Gypsies) one of whom was a certain John Faa!

What is known is that the Scottish Lowland gypsies took their royal traditions seriously. Several hundred followed William I’s funeral train when the great man died away from home: a train that reportedly included three hundred asses. And by the time that Charles II was put on the throne his coronation was celebrated by gypsies and gajo alike: ten thousand came to his coronation.

Yet through all this glory the monarchs of Yetholm lived in abject or relative poverty. King William II carted coals, smuggled and finally became a publican. Queen Esther had to rely on poor relief from time to time while Charles II and his wife ran a lodging house.