Charles I

Charles was born on the 19th November, 1600, at Dunfermline Palace in Scotland. He was the son of King James VI of Scotland and Queen Anne. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died, and as a result, his father, who was a descendent of King Henry VII, the grandfather of Elizabeth, became King of England as James I.

Engraving of Charles and his parents, King James and Queen Anne

 Portrait of Charles, c.1611 

In 1612, Henry, his elder brother, died, thus making Charles the heir apparent to the throne. From now on, the young man would be taught how to became an effective ruler. Furthermore, a future king needs a wife to further his bloodline. So, King James I embarked on a mission to find a suitable bride for his son. The first option was Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of King Philip III of Spain. The negotiations began in the early 1620s. 

Henry Frederick (1594-1612); He was the elder brother of Charles

Maria Anna of Spain (1606-1646)

King Philip III of Spain (1598-1621)

The match was pursued for many reasons. Spain and England had just ended a war in 1604, and they hoped the marriage would create a powerful alliance between the two kingdoms. King James also hoped that the marriage would come with a substantial dowry, since Spain had the largest and the wealthiest colonial empire in the world. However, the negotiations failed, and the relations between the two nations soured.

On the 27th of March, 1625 King James I died, and Charles became the King of England, Scotland and Ireland. No sooner had he been crowned, he started a war with Spain. The second Anglo-Spanish War brought no gains for England and it was a financial disaster. Meanwhile, Charles was married by proxy to the 15-year-old French princess Henrietta Maria, in front of the doors of Notre Dame de Paris. 

Queen Henrietta Maria; she was the daughter of King Henry IV of France and sister of King Louis XIII of France 

The marriage was very successful with the two being fond of each other. They had 9 children. But, there were problems. Henrietta was a staunch Catholic, and the influence of her Catholic courtiers over Charles was quite alarming. Furthermore, Charles asked Parliament for more money to finance his war against Spain. In order to bypass the Parliament, Charles used martial law and other royal prerogatives to secure enough funds. In 1628, the Parliament adopted a Petition of Right, calling upon Charles to acknowledge that he could not levy taxes without Parliament's consent. 

Petition of Right (1628); It has equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689

On 23 August 1628, the Duke of Buckingham was assassinated. He was one of the most important advisors of Charles and upon hearing the news, the king was furious. Having already lost a supporter and a friend and with a growing parliamentary opposition against him, Charles decided to dissolve the Parliament and started a period of self-governing known as the ''Personal Rule''. He also signed a peace treaty with Spain in 1630.

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628)

Even though he had total control, the king needed the Parliament to raise taxes. So, he relied on a series of obsolete taxes levied during the Middle Ages, such as ship money, which were more unpopular. Moreover, he created a clique of people loyal to him to govern the country. William Laud was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1633. Along with Laud, the king attempted to create a new version of Protestantism in England called Arminianism, in which both churches of England and Scotland would be united into a single one. This proved to be another controversial decision, which drew criticism from the Puritans, the Radical Protestants. 

William Laud (1573-1645); Archbishop of Canterbury 

King Charles I, c.1636

In 1639, the Scottish Presbyterians revolted against the king's religious reforms. The First Bishops' War had started. The result was a stalemate, and after a short peace, the Second Bishops' War erupted in which the Scots won and managed to occupy the North of England. The Treaty of Ripon was signed, and Charles agreed to pay the Scots £850 per day. Lacking funds, Charles swallowed his pride and summoned a new Parliament, in 1640. During a speech in the House of Commons, John Pym, an MP for Tavistock, expressed the refusal to vote for subsidies unless royal abuses were addressed. After three weeks, Charles dissolved what is now called the ''Short Parliament''.

John Pym (1584-1643)

In the autumn of 1640, he had to summon another Parliament which would last until 1660, earning its nickname the ''Long Parliament''. This time, the king appeared to be more open to concessions but the MPs did not buy it. Furthermore, the Parliament impeached Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford, one of Charles' supporters. He was found guilty of high treason and executed.  

Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford (1593-1641)

By 1642, Charles had had enough. On January 4th, he entered the House of Commons, accompanied by armed soldiers, to arrest the most important members of the opposition, including John Pym. Unfortunately, they were not there, so many MPs who were still open to negotiations turned against the king. Eventually, Charles fled London and began raising his forces, thus starting the First English Civil War. The Parliament did not remain idle either and it assembled its own army. In 1643, the Parliament secured an alliance with Scotland. In 1644 and 1645, the Royalist forces lost the battles of Marston Moor and Naseby. Charles was left without an army, so he surrendered himself to the Scots but the latter handed him over to the Parliament. The king was put on trial before a High Court of Justice and found guilty of treason. He was executed on January 30th, 1649. 

King Charles at his trial

Britain was for the first time in its history without a monarch. In 1649, the Commonwealth of England was established, but it did not last long. In 1660, Charles II, son of Charles I, was restored as King of England, Scotland and Ireland.