Charles the First ‘- this man of blood’
Charles was one of three children:
 Henry 1594-1612 (died of typhoid)
 Elizabeth 1596-1662 (married Frederick V)
 Charles 1600-1649
When James became King of England, Charles was left in Scotland because he was weak.
Charles stuttered, had weak legs from rickets, hardly ever saw his mother and was regarded as a runt. James always
called him “baby” even when Charles was 24 years old.
How prepared was Charles for Kingship?
 He had been the heir for 12 years.
 He had been involved with Court factions.
 As heir he sat in the House of Lords.
 Did not learn about Scotland.
 He took his position seriously.
George Villiers
 1614 Villiers was introduced to King James in an attempt to wean him away from his favourite - Robert Carr
Villiers stellar rise to power
 1614 Villiers was 22 years old, he had an income of £50 per year
 1615 he became a gentleman of the bedchamber with a pension of £1000
 1616 he became:
 master of the king’s horse with a staff of 200
 a Knight of the Garter
 made Viscount Villiers with an estate of £30,000
 managed the king’s patronage
 received a miniature of James with his heart in his hand
 1617 he was made an earl
 1618 he was made the Marquis of Buckingham
 1619 he was made Lord Admiral
 1623 he was made the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers
Villiers had unique attributes:
 youth
 beauty
 high spirits
 sensuality
 sweet character
 devotion
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Charles and Villiers did not initially get along.
Villiers was aware of Charles’ potential as heir
James wanted peace and encouraged Charles to marry and produce heirs
James wanted Charles to marry the Catholic Spanish Infanta to ensure peace
1618 the Thirty Years War began. It was a struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism.
Spain invaded the Palatinate and drove out Charles’ sister Elizabeth and her husband. They fled to Holland.
Charles’ marriage plans took on new urgency because Elizabeth was his heir
February 1623 Charles and Villiers, under the names of Tom and John Smith, went to Spain to conclude
secret marriage talks.
Negotiations failed and they returned home to a tumultuous welcome. People were thrilled that the Spanish
alliance was over.
1624 Charles and Villiers called for a war against Spain
James summoned parliament
November 1624 James approved of a marriage alliance with France.
Parliament approved and army to free the Palatinate (which failed)
1625 James died and Charles became king
Charles, unwisely, became more and more dependent on Villiers.
Villiers cornered patronage, sale of offices, and titles. This made him many enemies.
Villiers had friends among High Anglicans, Catholics and William Laud
Villiers mother converted to Catholicism
 1625 George Villiers arranged a marriage between Charles and the French Catholic Princess Henrietta Maria
 Part of the arrangement for the marriage meant that England had to suspend laws against English Catholics
 release Catholics in prison
 lend ships to help the French King against Protestants
First Parliament - 18th June – 11th July
 Called to grant taxes
 But there was plague in London.
 Parliament went to Oxford
 Charles took his court of 120 peers, 26 bishops, MPs and all their followers.
 However, the Parliament did not grant Charles any taxes
 Tunnage and Poundage (a tax on wool and wine always granted to the monarch for life) was not ratified
Between Parliaments
 October 1625 an ill-conceived attack was made on Cadiz.
 George Villiers was the Lord Admiral
 Half of the fleet was lost
 Charles collected Tunnage and Poundage without Parliament’s permission
Second Parliament - 6th February – 16th June 1626
 Charles wanted money for war
 Instead Lords and Commons preferred to complain about Villiers and Cadiz and his relationship with Charles
 Parliament did consider a tax grant of £350,000 but gave top priority to getting rid of Villiers
The Commons:
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-investigated Villiers
-formulated 13 charges
-gave the charges to the Lords
-common law judges sat
-trial was set
Charles had now lost control and support of the Lords.
Charles excluded Villiers’ enemies the Earls of Arundel and Bristol
Charles was criticised for his interference
13 Charges Against George Villiers
1. Villiers had excluded others from office for his own gains
2 & 3 He had purchased the position of Lord Admiral from the Earl of Nottingham for £3,000
4. He had not done a good job and had subsequently lost good ships and subjects
5,6,7,8 Misconduct as an admiral
9. He sold titles for profit
10. He took bribes in exchange for offices
11. He promoted his family
12. He gained Crown land for himself
13. He may have administered poison to King James (this was hearsay)
(1-12 were also a criticism of Charles)
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Charles dissolved Parliament partially to save George Villiers.
Charles still needed money.
He began a series of forced loans to pay his mutinous sailors who had not been paid.
Men were press-ganged into the military and then billeted without people’s permission.
The town of Banbury was burned down by pressed soldiers.
During the war with France, Villiers used up all his forced loans to help the French Protestants
The church was under the influence of the High Anglican anti-Calvinist William Laud
Third Parliament - 17th March – 26th June 1628 - first session
 Charles recalled parliament
 Parliament was more concerned with grievances rather than money, and how to stop Charles using his
emergency powers
Parliament presented Charles with a Petition of Right to sign:
 -there were to be no arbitrary taxes
 -no illegal imprisonment
 -no martial law
 -no billeting without consent
When Charles finally gave the document royal consent, Parliament granted him five subsidies of £275,000
When Parliament turned their attention to Tunnage and Poundage, Charles dissolved it
Between Parliaments
 August 1628 Villiers prepared another expedition to help the French Protestants
 George Villiers was stabbed to death
 Charles was devastated
Third Parliament - 20th January – 10th March 1629 - second session
 Charles called this session to legitimise his collection of Tunnage and Poundage
 Parliament criticised the rise of Arminianism
 Charles dismissed Parliament
Personal Rule 1629-1640
 It was Charles’ prerogative to call and dismiss Parliaments
 He had become disillusioned with Parliaments
 With a personal rule Charles would be personally liable for all successes and failures
The Queen
 Charles grew closer to his Queen after the death of George Villiers.
 Their first child was born soon after
 Henrietta was not an influential force before 1635
 Charles allowed her to continue with her Catholicism which caused resentment
1629-1630
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Charles made peace with France and Spain
The debt was now £1,500,000
There was no Parliament to grant taxes
Charles devised other means to raise money
Raising Money
 There was compulsory purchasing of knighthoods
 Forest boundaries were extended and then people were fined for trespassing
 1635 Ship Money was applied to the whole country not just port areas
 Charles sold many monopolies
Ship Money
 John Hampden challenged the validity of Ship Money by refusing to pay
 He was judged by twelve judges
 The judges ruled against him 7:5
 Charles did not have the full support of the judiciary
 People paid Ship Money but resented it
English Prayer Book
 Charles appointed William Laud as archbishop in 1633.
 In 1637 he decided to impose the English Prayer Book on the Scots
 The Scots were mainly Presbyterian (similar to Puritan). They hated Bishops and Prayer Books.
 This action was a major contributor to the Civil war
Scottish Riots
 The Scots rioted over the imposition of the Prayer Book.
 Charles was unable to quell the riots.
 In 1640 Charles called Parliament for help.
Arrest of MPs
 1642 Charles entered the House of Commons to arrest the five leading MPs who opposed him at every
turn.
 The MPs had been warned and had already left.
 Charles noted the “the birds have flown”
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Charles Leaves
 London was in an uproar.
 Charles fled north.
 He raised his standard at Nottingham.
 The Civil War began.
A Nation Divided
 Most of the prosperous south-east including London supported Parliament.
 Charles had the support of most of the rest of the country including Scotland.
 Generally Catholics supported Charles and Protestants supported Parliament.
Cavaliers and Roundheads
 The King’s followers were called Cavaliers and were dressed more flamboyantly.
 The Parliamentarians were called Roundheads which reflected the dress of the New Model Army
Prince Rupert
 Charles’ German born nephew Prince Rupert, aged 23, came to help his uncle.
 Charles made him commander of the Royalist army.
 He specialised in lightening cavalry charges.
 He was an outstanding military commander.
Robert Devereaux
 The Earl of Essex led the Parliamentary army.
 He was an experienced military commander
Edgehill
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The two armies met in Warwickshire on the 23rd October 1642.
Both armies suffered losses.
At the end of the day there was no clear winner.
The next day the Parliamentarians withdrew.
Marston Moor
 The Royalists had been undefeated under Prince Rupert.
 The Parliamentarians had an outstanding Victory at Marston Moor under Oliver Cromwell.
 Rupert called Cromwell and his men “Ironsides”.
Naseby
 This battle was a turning point.
 It took place in June 1644.
 It was the first major engagement for the Parliamentarians’ New Model Army.
 Charles fled to Scotland for help. The Scots betrayed him and handed him over to the Parliamentarians.
 He managed to escape but was soon recaptured.
 Charles was incarcerated in Carisbrooke Castle where he tried to organise an invasion force of Scots.
 This sparked off the second Civil War.
 The Royalists were defeated at Preston in August 1648.
Charles was truly defeated
Trial
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Execution
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The trial was held at Westminster Hall.
It began on 20th January 1649.
He was found guilty of treason.
The death warrant was signed by 59 republicans.
However, many felt that imprisonment would have been enough.
Sentence was passed on the 27th January 1649.
Charles was dignified to the end.
At 10am on the 30th January he was escorted to St James’ Palace.
The execution was to take place at 2pm.
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Charles wore two shirts so that his shivering from the cold would not be mistaken for fear.
The crowd groaned when the axe fell.
The huge crowd then surged towards the scaffold.
They bought relics of their dead king – some for remembrance and others for a trophy.
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His hair and blood were sold.
The block was broken and cut into chips and sold.
The sand on the platform, soaked in gore, was sold.
His body was manhandled.
Charles was buried at St George’s Chapel.
His coffin was covered in snow- a sign of innocence.
He was in his forty-eighth year of life and his twenty-second year of his reign