Monarchy and Divine Right: Charles I

Charles I: Character and Aims

King James died in March 1625, leading to Charles I's ascension at age 25.
Charles I was King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, and Defender of the Faith.
He was the fourth of seven children of King James; by 12, only Charles and his sister Elizabeth were alive.
Due to poor health, Charles was left behind in Scotland when James became King of England.
He had a Scottish accent, felt ill at ease among Englishmen, was short, and had a stutter.
He disliked long conversations, unlike James, who used them for governance.
Initially, he did not seem like an energetic monarch like Henry VIII or Elizabeth I.

Sensitivity and Culture

Charles I was cultured with a passion for the visual arts.
He assembled a magnificent art collection still recognized by experts.
Many masterpieces commissioned or bought by Charles have been on continuous public display since the 17th century.

Personal Relationships

Charles preferred the company of trusted individuals due to his physical frailty, shyness, and stammer.
His reign was marked by warm relationships with his wife, Henrietta Maria, and their seven children.
He showed loyalty to companions like the Duke of Buckingham, Archbishop William Laud, and Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford.

Era of the Printed Word

England experienced a growth in the use of printed materials.
The printing press dramatically changed access to information, similar to the internet's impact.
Pamphlets, books, almanacs (diaries with astrological information, news, ads, religious texts) were common.
Shakespeare's drama was developed further by other playwrights.
Significant writers like Francis Bacon turned essay writing into a literary genre.
Charles' reticence was perceived as cold and aloof in this noisy environment.

Charles' Aims as Monarch

In 1625, a breakdown between king and parliament was not predicted (except for concerns about Buckingham's preeminence).
Charles' ideas about the role of the monarch were not substantially different from his predecessors.

Summary of Charles' Aims:

Maintain law and order within his kingdoms.
Ensure the effective operation of the justice system.
Support local gentry in managing localities to prevent issues like famine triggering civil disorder.
Defend his kingdom from external threats.
Conduct effective foreign policy.
Maintain adequate military strength to support foreign policy.
Promote his kingdoms as strong and efficient through public image.
Provide effective religious leadership.
Maintain order in the Church of England, Scottish Kirk, and the Irish Church.
Defend the true faith from heresy.
Ensure financial and economic well-being.
Carefully manage expenditure.
Efficiently collect income, including taxation.
New ideas about the role of parliamentarians had developed during the reign of James I.
The cost of maintaining defense had increased.
Religious differences were an ongoing problem.
The bond between monarch and country had always proven strong enough to cope.
The 1625 succession was the smoothest since 1509.
Charles' insecurity and poor communication skills made him ill-equipped to handle social, religious, and political turbulence.
James I often moderated his powerful theory of divine right, but Charles rigidly adhered to his perceived status as ruler chosen by God.

The Queen and the Court

Henrietta Maria was 15 when she married Charles; the marriage was contracted for political and religious reasons.
King Louis XIII of France wanted to strengthen an anti-Spanish alliance and prevent English support for French Protestant rebels.
Marie de Medici, Henrietta Maria's mother, hoped her daughter would protect English Catholics and draw England back to Rome.
Buckingham caused a quarrel that led to estrangement between the king and queen, and the dismissal of French courtiers, lasting until his assassination in 1628.

Growing Political Influence:

After Buckingham's death, Charles and Henrietta Maria grew closer.
The arrival of the French ambassador, the Marquis de Chateauneuf, helped her develop political influence.
He gathered a faction around her, including the Earl of Holland and Wartemontague, providing a pro-French balance to the pro-Spanish faction.
Marie de Medici orchestrated the turnaround in Henrietta Maria's position in the late 1620s and early 1630s.

Protection for Catholics:

Freedom of worship for Henrietta Maria was in the marriage treaty, but Catholicism was an obstacle to her acceptance.
One-fifth of the English gentry were Catholic, and the queen's presence at court brought practical protection.
She persuaded the Earl of Holland to discreetly secure the freedom of arrested priests.
She gathered noble Catholic women around her, praised by Pope Urban VIII.

Development of Court Culture:

Henrietta Maria's ability to create a unique court culture rose.
Masks were a feature of the royal court; the queen was an exuberant participant.
Puritans objected to the queen's love of masks, viewing acting as ungodly and female participation as immoral.
The queen performed in "The Shepherd's Paradise," prompting William Prynne to attack women actors.

Patronage of the Arts:

Henrietta Maria's patronage of the arts led to works celebrating her and associating her with the Virgin Mary.
Ben Johnson wrote about her pregnancies.
Court paintings used Catholic iconography, such as pearls and roses.
The atmosphere in the queen's court caused increased religious tension.

The King's Advisers

The royal court was at the heart of Tudor and Stuart government.
The inner sanctum was the personal space where the king lived and consulted advisers.
Gaining access to this privileged world brought one closer to power.
Access was gained through proximity to the court or connections to a patron.
This system was fluid, arbitrary, and sometimes unfair but had worked effectively.

Buckingham and the Inner Sanctum:

Buckingham's rise typified how access to the king was a shortcut to power.
His physical attributes, charm, and sexuality allowed him to dominate King James.
By the time Charles succeeded, Buckingham's influence had almost destroyed the inner sanctum.
He had replaced the king as the font of patronage and distributed favor among his faction.
The court Charles inherited was immoral and corrupt.

The Caroline Court:

Charles' personal temperament led to a rapid reformation of the court, making it more moral and orderly.
Charles instructed the gentry to spend less time in London and more time fulfilling duties in their regions.
William Palmer was fined in 1632 for remaining in London without permission.
Charles' desire for order and decency isolated him from potential advisers.
Even after Buckingham's assassination, Charles prioritized order over access.

Demonstrations of Rule and Authority

Charles used visual arts and architecture to convey power and authority.
He made use of Hampton Court Palace, adding to its paintings, furniture, and tapestries.
He traced the English monarchy back to the Tudor monarchs, especially Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, to project power.
He employed Inigo Jones, who designed the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall.
At Whitehall, he invested in a ceiling by Peter Paul Rubens, completed in 1636.
The ceiling included the union of the crowns, the apotheosis of James I, and the peaceful reign of James I.

The Divine Right of Kings

Charles' commission to Rubens revealed his belief in royal authority and the divine right of kings.
The divine right of kings was the idea that the monarch was chosen by God, and challenging the king was challenging God.

Development of the Theory:

Christians believed God chose who would be king; the coronation service involved a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Archbishop acted on behalf of the Pope, God's representative on Earth.
The Church could pass God's authority to the king, giving him a divine right to govern.
Henry VIII's break with Rome made him supreme head of the Church, no longer answerable to the Pope.
Sacred and temporal power resided in one monarch who had authority to act as God's representative.
The king was theoretically subject to God's laws, but no one's authority exceeded his.
The development of the theory of divine right was slower and took place over the century following the break with Rome.
James I was a proponent of divine right, writing about it.
Charles built on James' theories, turning divine right into a public genre of arts and architecture.

Opposition to Divine Right:

Some members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons resisted the view of monarchical power.
They felt it removed Parliament's independent authority and subjected it to the royal will.
Catholics refused to accept that the Pope's authority could be displaced.
Puritans believed the king only had earthly power and should not appoint spiritual leaders.

Charles' Endorsement of Divine Right:

James lectured Parliament for their impertinence.
Charles turned his powers into tools to reinforce royal authority.
Some people saw this as a sign that he wanted to become an absolute monarch.
Absolute monarchy was becoming established in Europe, especially in France and Spain.
There is little to indicate that Charles was aiming to become an absolute ruler, but his actions and those of his wife alarmed the nation.