Charles I: Introduction

When was Charles I crowned king?

He was crowned king on 26th February 1626 at Westminster Abbey.

Why didn’t Henrietta Maria attend Charles’s coronation?

She refused to attend because she didn't want to participate in a Protestant religious ceremony. This was due to her Catholic background.

What were the issues with Charles I?

His personality and character was a major issue and exacerbated existed tensions between Crown and Parliament. He created further difficulties and even opposition. Things were made ever worse by Charles' ineptitude and widespread hostility to Buckingham.

What were the issues with Charles’s marriage?

There were a few issues with his marriage:

• Maria did not speak English well and struggled to write in the language. Charles learnt and spoke French to her. Due to her Catholic beliefs and her struggle with English, it marked her out as different and a threat to English society. This was because they were afraid that England would become a Catholic society.

• He married Henrietta Maria (she was 15) by proxy on 1st May 1625 and in person on 13th June 1625. He delayed the opening of his first parliament until after marriage was consummated to forestall any opposition.

How different was Charles I from his father James I?

The contrasts from Charles and his father were:

Charles I:

• He was unable to assert control over the Commons.

• He had a cold, demanding and arrogant personality.

• He had a rough childhood and was raised by others including George Villers (Duke of Buckingham).

• He was not communicative and refused to take in criticism from Court.

• He was very insecure and unable to stand up for himself due to his struggle in speech.

• He favoured Arminianism.

• He had an inferiority complex that made him over overstress and refuse to accept criticism. He struggled to compromise and his intentions and actions were often unexplained

James I:

• He wanted to be a “Rex Pacificus” to Europe and bring Christendom.

• He wanted to allow all Christian denominations to be treated equally.

• He was more communicative with Parliament.

• Parliament had lost power in his reign.

What is the overall summary of Charles I?

There are a few factors that can be blamed to why his reign was not successful which are:

• His personality

• Religion

• Foreign Policy

• Influence of Buckingham

• Finance

• Parliament

What were the problems with Charles?

His belief in the Divine Right of Kings caused him to have a superiority complex. This caused him to believe that he was more intelligent than everyone else and no one was able to question him.

What was Charles’ inheritance like?

Due to his father’s extravagant behaviour, finance had been a constant major source of tension and Parliament had shown unease regarding James' ideas on the Divine Rights of Kings.

There were encouraging signs of the Crown and Parliament working together would be stable:

• James held on control of foreign policy

• There was co-operation between the Commons and Privy Council to oversee trade to combat economic depression.