King Charles I

Lesson 2: Adult

In this lesson you will find out about Charles's adult years and explore the finished character and personality. You will also see how his immediate family changes.

Duke of Buckingham

Buckingham was a commoner, whose rapid promotion through court positions, followed by an equally fast progression through the peerage, made him unique. He was good looking, charming, over confident and very manipulative.

At first, relations with Charles had been bad, but after being so lonely, Buckingham offered the strength which Charles needed. They became close and genuinely fond of each other as time went by.

Charles called him ‘Steenie’ and James called them both his children, while actually appearing to be infatuated by Buckingham. Charles took advice from Buckingham in all things and when James died in 1625, Buckingham’s influence and position was secure, with Charles’s confidence.

Charles needed a close advisor - he had inherited a difficult situation and much was expected of him. James Howell wrote that Charles found the kingdom, ‘cloudy, for he is left engaged in a war with a potent prince, the people by long desetude unapt for arms, the fleet-royal in quarter repair, himself without a Queen, his sister without a country, the crown pitifully laden with debts and the purse of the state lightly balusted.’

This was true and however much Charles wanted to lead a crusade against Catholicism abroad, which would also return his sister and brother in-law’s country to their control, he would not have the resources or time while the country remained as it was. This was a let down as he wished to fly the banner of Protestantism abroad.

Despite these limits, Charles commissioned Buckingham to lead force after force of men unsuccessfully against Catholic France and Spain. These defeats added to Buckingham’s unpopularity and they failed because Parliament would not grant sufficient funds, something which Charles never forgave. In his view, Parliament was stopping him from defending the Protestant religion and also slighting his family by stopping him from going to his sister’s aid.

Parliament also insulted Charles by not following their tradition of always granting the new sovereign an income for life. Charles’s first parliament granted him his income for a year alone, proposing to renew it later.

This was the greatest slap in the face. It was such a stab for powers not yet in Parliament's control that it alienated Charles from the beginning and his stubborn nature made his own actions equally as terse. The members of Parliament had humiliated a divinely appointed king and left his country without the necessary funds to protect it against enemies, which was unforgivable to Charles.

To raise extra money, Charles thought nothing of resurrecting ancient taxes, flimsy though they were in the eyes of the law. He ignored Parliament for as long as he could, too, not wanting to face any humiliation if they further refused money.

Eventually, however, Parliament had to be summoned when royal money ran out, to provide money for continuing the wars and they demanded Buckingham’s removal. By this time Buckingham’s immense wealth and his arrogant manner had alienated many, including other influential people. Parliament came to hate him and blamed him for the costly military defeats in wars with France and Spain, both of which Buckingham led.

To Charles, someone who believed as most of his people did - that he was there to protect them on behalf of God - this demand was fully outrageous. He would defend Buckingham to the end now, for the matter had turned into a matter of principle and in such matters, Charles would never budge a millimetre. Nobody could hold the King to ransom in such a way, especially when they bargained money in exchange for a loyal friend and minister, however unpopular that minister was.

Charles dissolved Parliament, but it was too late. Hatred for Buckingham was so rife that he was prone to all sorts of attacks. John Felton succeeded at Portsmouth in 1628 and stabbed Buckingham to death.

Typical of Charles’s character, he was told in public at prayers of Buckingham's death, but signalled for the service to continue, showing no emotion at all. In private, afterwards, he wept for the loss of a close friend, one linked with his childhood and who had been as close to him as a brother. Never again would he be so close to a non-blood servant or minister.

Crucially again, maybe he associated Buckingham’s death with Parliament’s demands for his removal. Whatever he thought, he had been left alone again. Only a wife who he did not get on with remained, one who had been jealous of Buckingham’s close friendship with her husband.

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