Booklet 1 - The Kings 3 closest advisers

Question 1

Who was George Villiers?

The first adviser

Answer 1

• The duke of Buckingham
• Unpopular- too much influence over the king
• Was an adviser to James I
• Handsome anc charming from a minor gentry family
• Charles disliked him at first but they became friends
• Poor diplomacy led to war with France
• Parliament saw him as inexperienced, they weren’t happy with how he organised foreign policy
• He attempted to negotiate a marriage for Charles with the daughter of the Spanish king - plan failed, Spanish not impressed by plan to woo her

Question 2

Who was Thomas Wentworth?

The second adviser

Answer 2

• The Earl of Strafford
• Once a critic of the crown and was imprisoned in 1627 for refusing to pay the forced loan - parliament saw him as a traitor - helped draft the petition of right (1628)
• 1629 - loyal to the king and was made president of the council of the north, he used a prerogative court to impose disipline, he threatened the balance of local and central government
• He pursued the policy of Thorough - strict control of everything he did, thought if people did their jobs properly, there’d be no tension between the king and parliament, this policy made the king trust him
• 1631 - appointed lord deputy of Ireland to impose order on Ireland: he interfered in the Irish church, he had to get as much money as he could out of Ireland which raised major income, made an army in Ireland and people were concerned it’d come over to England, he was appointed Lord deputy due to religious tensions between Catholics and Anglicans and the English who lived in Ireland were concerned about the Catholics
• Known as Black Tom tyrant

Question 3

Who was William Laud?

The third adviser

Answer 3

• He wanted religious uniformity - he enforced the book of common prayer, called it the beauty of holiness, wanted all same beliefs and practices/ceremonies for all religions, puritans saw this as bringing back catholicsism because many things were similar to it, some people were so worried about it that they emigrated to New England in USA
• He was the Bishop of London and then Archbishop of Canterbury - has a senior position in Church
• He enforces belief of divine right and absolutism and wanted the clergy to support it as well
• Bishops became more important in government
• He used courts of high comission and the star chamber to enforce church rule