Who is Cannoc in the novel, The Beatryce Prophecy?

Cannoc is described as a jolly fellow, who loves to laugh. He convinces Jack and Beatryce to descend from their hiding spot in the trees, and then he takes them to his home: a room carved into a tree. On the way there, he reveals that he used to be king, but that he ran away from the castle to live in the woods.