No marriage occurred, however, as the Spanish demanded the Prince of Wales' conversion to Roman Catholicism. The new Prince of Wales was greatly influenced by his father's favourite courtier, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, who took him on an expedition to Spain in 1623 to look for a suitable bride, and settled on the daughter of the Spanish King Philip III, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain. His sister Elizabeth married in 1613 to Frederick V, Elector Palatine and moved to Heidelberg. When his elder brother died at the age of 18 of typhoid in 1612, two weeks before Charles's 12th birthday, Charles became heir apparent and was subsequently created the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in November 1616. Two years before, in 1603, he was created Duke of Albany in Scotland. In 1605, as was then customary in the case of the Sovereign's second son, he was created Duke of York in England. As an adult Charles was 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm) tall.Ĭharles was not as well-regarded as his elder brother, Henry, Prince of Wales Charles himself adored Henry and tried to emulate him.
He did make the journey in July 1604 and was subsequently placed under the charge of Alletta (Hogenhove) Carey, the Dutch-born wife of courtier Sir Robert Carey, who taught him how to walk and talk and insisted that he wear boots made of Spanish leather and brass to help strengthen his weak ankles. When Elizabeth I died in March 1603 and James VI became King of England as James I, Charles was originally left in Scotland in the care of nurses and servants because it was feared that the journey would damage his fragile health. He was an underdeveloped child (he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the nation's shortest king) who was still unable to walk or talk at the age of three. The second son of James VI, King of Scots and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born at Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. Charles' son, Charles II, became King after restoring the monarchy in 1660.Ĭharles is also the only person to be canonized by the Church of England since the English Reformation. The monarchy was then abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England was declared. This was considered unacceptable, and Charles was subsequently tried, convicted, and executed for high treason. Instead, he remained defiant, provoking a second Civil War (1648 - 1649). The first Civil War (1642 - 1645) ended in defeat for Charles, after which the parliamentarians expected him to accept their demands for a constitutional monarchy.
The last years of Charles' reign were marked by the English Civil War, in which he was opposed by the forces of Parliament-who challenged his attempts to augment his own power-and by Puritans, who were hostile to his religious policies and apparent Catholic sympathy. Charles' later attempts to force religious reforms upon Scotland led to the Bishops' Wars that weakened England and helped precipitate his downfall.
Many of Charles' subjects felt this brought the Church of England too close to Roman Catholicism. Laud did not bring changes to the liturgy of the Church of England, but he did endorse a stricter enforcement of the English Prayerbook, which included ceremonies that many Englishmen chose to omit. Charles further allied himself with controversial religious figures, including the ecclesiastic Richard Montagu, and William Laud, whom Charles appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
He married a Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria, over the objections of Parliament and public opinion. Religious conflicts permeated Charles' reign. There was widespread opposition to many of his actions, especially the levying of taxes without Parliament's consent. As he was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, many in England feared that he was attempting to gain absolute power. He famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England.
Charles I ( 19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.