The First Stuart King - The Wisest Fool in Christendom VI

Politics Rears its Ugly Head

Robert Cecil

In the spring of 1612 one gentleman wrote to Sir Ralph Winwood[i];

‘My Lord Treasurer’s malady doth daily increase………..He hath besides an ague, a deflation of rheum on his stomach, and withal difficultum respirandi………..his Lordship must shortly leave this world.’[ii]

Robert Cecil died 24^th May 1612, worn out by continuous service to his sovereigns. The race was now on to fill the posts left vacant by Cecil’s death. Francis Bacon first thought to become Master of the Wards in Cecil’s place, but was later given the post of Attorney General.

The new or Addled Parliament in 1614 was accounted a troublesome one by Francis Bacon for its high proportion of new members.  But the main root of James’ problems was the inexperience of his new servants; Cecil’s ability to manage men was much missed by his erstwhile master. Ralph Winwood[iii] was chosen as Secretary for State and the new Speaker of the House had not sat therein for over twenty years.

James’ friendship with the Spanish ambassador, who knew how to make James laugh and went hunting with the king, made his subjects fear that James was plotting to bring back the Catholic religion. James’ speech to the parliament promising some tolerance of Catholics did nothing to appease those fears.

The Commons became;

‘More fiery and violent in their speeches.’[iv]

They attacked the Bishop of Lincoln when he suggested that their arguments were seditious. In turn Christopher Neville denounced the court for corruption. James, who had been hoping for an increase in his finances, eventually gave up in despair and dissolved parliament.

Edward Coke

Many of the members had been lawyers and James was incapable of appreciating the English system of Common Law, much of it developed by Edward Coke who was made Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1606.

Murder She Decreed

Ralph Winwood was a tool of the rapacious Howard family[v] who, joined by Carr, had great influence over James. The Howards had been fortunate in their early espousal of James[vi] and the alliance with Carr was the result of his marriage to Frances Howard of whom John Donne wrote;

‘First, her eyes kindle other ladies’ eyes

Then from those beams their jewels’ lustre rise;

And from their jewels torches do take fire;

And all is warmth and light and good desire.’[vii]



Howard was a ruthless woman who had already besmirched the reputation of her former husband the Earl of Essex on the grounds that he was incapable of consummating their marriage.

Thomas Overbury

At a time when the king was not popular a lurid murder caught the public imagination. Sir Thomas Overbury, a confidant of the favourite, was poisoned. Overbury had opposed the marriage to Frances, fearing that his own influence with Carr would be much diluted by the Howards. More foolishly Overbury wrote and disseminated a poem called A Wife, capitulating the virtues a young man should look for in his wife.

James was pressured into offering Overbury a diplomatic post as ambassador to Russia; an offer that Overbury declined. James was further pressured into having Overbury arrested on 22^nd April 1613 and thrown into the Tower. During his time in prison Overbury was gradually poisoned with a series of jellies sent by Howard. He died on 14^th September 1613. Francis Bacon and Edward Coke were charged with investigating the murder. After four accomplices were convicted and hung, Frances confessed.

Frances Howard

Both Somerset and his new wife were tried for the murder and both were sentenced to death. James commuted the sentence to life imprisonment and the couple were kept in the Tower until January 1622[viii]. The king was tainted by association, although it would appear that Carr was probably innocent of the crime.

A New Favourite

The Howard family were about to lose the hold they had on the king. There arose a new favourite, another pretty boy, George Villiers. It is highly possible that he was introduced to James in an attempt to overthrow Carr’s hold on the king’s affections.

Villiers’ rise was meteoric; he met the king in 1614 and was appointed Cupbearer, he was knighted in 1615 and made Gentleman of the Bedchamber with a grant of £1,000 per annum[ix], in 1616 he was made Master of the Horse, at the age of 24 he became a Knight of the Garter and created Baron Whaddon and Viscount Villiers. Villiers was made Earl of Buckingham and a Privy Counsellor in 1617. In 1619 Villiers was made Marquess of Buckingham and was finally made Duke of Buckingham in 1623.

Courtiers were in no doubt about the relationship, Edward Peyton wrote;

‘The king sold his affections to Sir George Villiers, whom he would tumble and kiss as a mistress.’[x]

George Villiers

And in similar vein John Oglander said that he;

‘Never yet saw any fond husband make so much or so great dalliance over his beautiful spouse as I have seen King James over his favourites, especially the Duke of Buckingham.’[xi]

Villiers was originally considered ‘a modest and courteous youth’ but, like many a favourite before and after, that soon changed. He was not modest, and apparently never had been, and the courtesy was soon lost on his rise to power. Even the queen approved, writing to him;

‘My Kind Dog[xii] you do very well in lugging the Sowe’s [king’s] eare, and I thank you for it, and would have you do so still, upon condition that you continue a watchful dog and be always true to him. So wishing you all happiness.’[xiii]

Anne was relieved to be released from being dragged around the kingdom on royal progresses.

There was one person at court who was not part of the George Villiers appreciation club. The 19 year old 5’ 4” Prince Charles was overshadowed by the tall and commanding favourite. Charles resented Villiers and once twisted a water spout so that it spurted on Villier’s gorgeously clothed back; another time the pair came to blows on the tennis court.

But even Charles could not long resist the favourite’s spell and ‘sweet Steenie’ and ‘baby Charles’ soon formed an intense friendship that owed nothing to sexuality; a friendship that was to last until Villier’s death.

Finances Again

Lionel Cranfield

In 1621 Lionel Cranfield was made Lord High Treasurer; a new policy of rationalising tariffs increased James’ income by £30,000 per annum[xiv]. Cranfield believed that James’ current expenditure should not imperil his future income and therefore assignments on revenue should be loans not gifts.

In June 1618 Cranfield persuaded James to agree to his regulations for running the Wardrobe[xv]. Cranfield managed to almost halve the Wardrobe’s expenditure, arousing opposition having, in his words, reduced;

‘Only their stealing and thieveries.’[xvi]

Naval expenses were remarkable for the scandalous speculation, bribery and waste; the Howard Lord High Admiral was sacked. In 1618 the Howard Lord High Treasurer, Lord Suffolk, was removed from his post after his accounts were found to be wanting in the extreme. Suffolk was accused of embezzlement and his wife of taking bribes. They were jointly fined £30,000 and ordered to return the embezzled monies. Cranfield was made Master of the Wards and income increased by over 25%, but even his personal wealth tripled in the 9 years up to 1620.

Bibliography

Charles The First – John Bowle, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1975

The Early Stuarts – Godfrey Davies, Oxford University Press 1987

King James – Antonia Fraser, BCA 1974

Charles I – Christopher Hibbert, Penguin 1968

The Thirty Years War – Herbert Langer, Dorset Press 1990

The Thirty Years War – CV Wedgewood, Folio Society 1999

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] Adiplomat and politician

[ii] Robert Cecil - Haynes

[iii] Who had never taken his seat in the house, he was nominated by Robert Carr, still in favour with James

[iv] King James - Fraser

[v] Which ranked the Earl of Nottingham, the Earl of Suffolk and the Earl of Northampton on its books, not to mention Lord Knollys, later Earl of Banbury

[vi] James was much influenced by the fact that the former head of the Howard family, Thomas Howard, 4^th Duke of Norfolk, had been a favoured suitor for his mother’s hand in marriage

[vii] King James - Fraser

[viii] Carr died in 1645 leaving one daughter Anne

[ix] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £154,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £5,490,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £37,130,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[x] www.wikipedia.en

[xi] Ibid

[xii] The king called Villiers ‘kind dogge Steenie’ and in return was called ‘dear dad and gossip’

[xiii] Charles I - Hibbert

[xiv] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £4,697,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £158,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £1,072,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[xv] £70,000 in debt by 1617 or in 2011 the relative:  historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £10,640,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £344,100,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £2,324,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[xvi] King James - Fraser

The First Stuart King - The Wisest Fool in Christendom V

On Matters of Interest to the King

James VI & I

In 1604 James wrote A Counterblaste to Tobacco, fulminating against smoking, which had become very popular since Ralegh first introduced it to England. James likened tobacco smoking to Hell;

‘A custome lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs, and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoke of the pit that is bottomelesse.’[i]

And his response to the argument that tobacco smoking was popular was to say;

‘Such is the force of that natural Self-Love as we cannot be content unless we imitate everything that our fellows do……..counterfeiting the manners of others, to our own destruction.’[ii]

James allowed the Earl of Dorset, Lord High Treasurer, to levy a tariff of six shillings and eight pence[iii] per pound of tobacco imported.

Earl of Dorset

James also suggested a union between the two countries, but the fury of the English knew no bounds. They believed that any benefits would accrue to the Scots, who had flocked down with their king and in many instances had been well-rewarded for so doing. James spoke in Parliament in support of his proposal; he suggested that all Scots born after 1603 should become British and all those born before should be naturalised.

‘It was unreasonable that a thing that was in nature so much in effect one, should not be a unity in name.’[iv]

But the objections overruled James’ ambitious plan, although he and Cecil were able to unite the coinage of the two kingdoms.

Money Problems

There had been a 50% price rise during the period of Elizabeth’s reign and James’ financial problems were aggravated by his generosity to his friends and supporters. Cecil spent £60,000[v] on his new residence at Hatfield[vi]. Lord Suffolk[vii] built Audley End, which could house the whole court.

Inigo Jones

In addition James was extravagant on his own behalf and so was his queen; Anne loved elaborate masques and balls organised by Inigo Jones[viii] who had been recommended to the queen by her brother Christian IV of Denmark. In the autumn of 1604 Jones was working with Ben Jonson on The Masque of Blackness.

And as ever Parliament was unwilling to vote monies to support the king’s extravagances. And James was convinced that the king of England was as rich as the king of Scotland was poor. By the time Lord Dorset died in 1608 the Crown had debts of £600,000[ix], the result of James’ extravagant expenditure. The Crown had an income of over £350,000[x] in 1610, partly as the result of Cecil’s endeavours, and king and parliament were unable to come to an agreement.

The King and His Boy

James homosexual tendencies led him to favour Robert Carr, one of those who had followed James down from Scotland and now made Earl of Somerset. James failed to take into consideration the sensibilities of the ruling English nobility who felt they had a right to advise the king; the new favourites threatened that powerbase.

Robert Carr

Carr attracted the king’s attention at a tournament and later when he broke his leg and was taken to Charing Cross hospital. The king hung around the young man’s bed and the court was not far behind; Sir Anthony Weldon wrote;

‘Lord, how the great men flocked to see him [Carr] then, and to offer to his shrine in such abundance.’[xi]

By 1613 Carr had his Earldom and was spending the money James gave him like water; in that year he disposed of £90,000[xii]. He married the sister of Lord Suffolk, Frances Howard  that same year. Madly in love James taught Carr Latin. Prince Henry disliked Carr; his father used Carr transmit instructions to Henry, including those relating to Henry’s projected marriage. Once Henry

‘Menaced to strike [Carr] with a tennis racket.’[xiii]

When the couple fell out and Carr was treating James to hysterical scenes James was bitter;

‘I shall never pardon myself but shall carry that cross to the grave with me, for raising a man so high as might make him presume to pierce my ears with such speeches.’[xiv]

Losing  Children

Prince Henry

The popular Prince Henry died on 6^th November 1612 of typhoid fever at the age of 18. James refused to attend the funeral and the 11 year old Prince Charles was the principal mourner. Henry was in many ways the opposite of James; he was careful with his money and intensely disliked the swearing his father was prone to. He was also interested in ships and farming. Henry was a loving elder brother to Charles and Elizabeth; both princes stammered and Henry had to practise speaking.

‘’The corpse of the lamented Prince of Wales……….was on the 7^th December, interred in Westminster Abbey with unexampled pomp and magnificence.’[xv]

Three months later Charles effectively lost his only other surviving sibling, when his 16 year old sister Elizabeth married Frederick V, Count Palatine. As the daughter of a Protestant king and second in line to the English throne Elizabeth had a number of Protestant princes looking for her hand in marriage, among their number were Gustavus Adolphus[xvi], son of the king of Sweden and Prince Maurice of Nassau[xvii].

Princess Elizabeth as Queen of Bohemia

The marriage was wildly popular with the English and took place on 14^th February. After the ceremony at the Chapel Royal at Whitehall the entertainments went on for days;

‘Amidst a succession of luxurious entertainments, the king often betrayed weariness, and the queen ill-humour; and whenever this occurred, she vented her spleen by addressing her daughter by the appellation of Goody Palsgrove.’[xviii]

It was not until the end of April that the couple left England en route to Frederick’s home. By now James was unhappy, possibly at the vast amount of money spent on his daughter’s wedding but more probably still grief stricken at the loss of Henry, and he betook himself to Theobalds, while the queen went on a progress.

In Prose and Verse

Shakespeare was still active in the early Jacobean period; writing Othello in 1604, King Lear and Macbeth in 1606, Coriolanus in 1608 and the Tempest in 1611 among many others. He finished three plays in 1613, before dying in 1616. A number of his plays were performed at court.

Ben Jonson was working for the king producing masques for the court’s entertainment. The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster, was performed by the King’s Majesty’s Servants at the Globe in 1623.

John Donne

James also patronised John Donne making him chaplain in ordinary and later made him Dean of St Paul’s. To other writers James was less supportive; John Selden[xix] had his history of tithes suppressed. His pamphlet, commissioned by James, answering the Dutch claim to the freedom of the seas was suppressed to avoid causing offence to the queen’s brother.

James visited both Oxford and Cambridge universities; in 1615 James particularly enjoyed his trip to the Bodleian Library The trip was enlivened by supper at Christchurch, plays were performed at which the king fell asleep and much wine was drunk.

Bibliography

Charles The First – John Bowle, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1975

The Early Stuarts – Godfrey Davies, Oxford University Press 1987

King James – Antonia Fraser, BCA 1974

Robert Cecil – Alan Haynes, Peter Owen Publishers 1989

Charles I – Christopher Hibbert, Penguin 1968

Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart, vol 1 – Elizabeth Benger, reprint of A & R Spottiswoode (unknown date)

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] www.wikipedia.en

[ii] King James - Fraser

[iii] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £64.52 economic status value of that income or wealth is £1,752.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £12,830.00 www.measuringworth.com

[iv] Robert Cecil - Haynes

[v] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £9,521,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £318,600,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £2,188,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[vi] Having given his previous home Theobalds to the king

[vii] Son of the 4^th Duke of Norfolk who was executed by Elizabeth.

[viii] An architect who designed the Banqueting House at Whitehall amongst other projects

[ix] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £93,930,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £3,274,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £23,000,000,000.00 www.measuringwealth.com

[x] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £59,580,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £1,695,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £11,770,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[xi] King James – Fraser

[xii] In 2011 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £13,660,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £480,400,000.00economic power value of that income or wealth is £3,285,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[xiii] Charles the First - Bowle

[xiv] King James - Fraser

[xv] Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart vol 1 - Benger

[xvi] One of the key players in the Thirty Years’ War

[xvii] A key player in the Revolt in the Netherlands against the might of Spain

[xviii] Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart vol 1 - Benger

[xix] A jurist and scholar