Why King Charles I Was Britain's Most Hated Monarch | Stuarts: Charles I | Absolute History

game of kings the stuarts is an evocation of the extraordinary era when these four Stuart Kings lived through turbulent times Catholic versus Protestant Parliament against King the English Civil War Europe torn apart by religious conflict the plague the Great Fire of London and finally a Catholic King fled his country and his throne [Music] Charles the first succeeded James the first who had inherited the throne from his mother Mary Queen of Scots which had brought the two kingdoms together but at such a bloody cost Charles struggled to be the king that everyone longed for the very beginning of Charles is writing the Charles plunges England into two simultaneous Wars to fight both of the superpowers from Elena he's crazy and the result of course is that that all the campaigns are failures he did believe in the Divine Right of Kings he believed he was placed there by God through history we think Charles the first who lost his head having lost the Civil War but we forget the years when he was seen as the luckiest monarchy in Europe he was a highly sophisticated King he really put British visual culture on the map both in terms of what he commissioned the form of Rubens and Van Dyck but also what he collected Charles a second the restoration would be unity and glamour back to the country the people were worn out by the austerity of Cromwell and the parliamentarian era and ecstatically welcomes the new king james ii the catholic king of a Protestant country was disaster waiting to happen in this series we're looking at the reign of the Stuart Kings to the lives of the wind' family who lived here at gwydyr castle in North Wales the winds rather prospered during the Stuart era Sir John the head of the family had been knighted during the reign of King James the first and was later elevated to the position of baronet but it was during the reign of King Charles the first that the connection between the two families grew closest [Music] [Music] Charles the first became King of England Scotland and Ireland in 1625 succeeding his father King James the second Stuart Manik like his father Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings and shun Parliament as irrelevant as a result he had a tempestuous reign and eventually led to the outbreak of a civil war Sir Richard Wayne was a confidante to the new King Charles the first and he was appointed groom of the bedchamber and gentleman of the Privy chamber Sir Richard Wayne and King Charles were long acquainted Richard had even joined his future King on a pretty disastrous trip to Spain in 1623 Charles that hoped to negotiate his marriage to the Spanish and Fanta Maria Anna daughter of King Philip the third but he was forced to return home humiliated Charles's abject failure in Spain was an absolute delight to many back home they did not want their future king marrying a Catholic this was supposed to be a Protestant country now however Charles still ended up growing a Catholic despite all of their protests as he made his way to Spain on that fateful journey in 1623 he'd been to Paris and there he met Henrietta Maria daughter of the King of France Henry the fourth so that hopeless journey aboard trying to get the Spanish in Fanta had not been in vain Charles and Henrietta Maria would emerge in Canterbury in 1625 [Music] Henrietta Mirai got married on the understanding with Pope Urban that she would try and do her best to bring England back to the true faith of Roman Catholicism and also the sort of understanding that she'd do her best to influence the royal family itself the children that she had produce the real problem was she was very zealously Catholic so she flaunted her Catholicism even to the extent that she refused to take part in the coronation because she would not have the proceedings overseen by a Protestant it was something that was anaphora to her it's very puzzling if you're a modern person to find the answer to why it should have been such a source of contention that Charles the first-ever monarch to be brought up as a member of the Church of England shouldn't have been married to a Roman Catholic she was French so you have really strong religious prejudices on the side of Queen Henrietta Maria and a lot of people in political power in England and it was it would have needed somebody to back down and it wasn't going to be the politicians in the year of the coronation of Mary 1625 Sir Richard Wayne is supposed to have planted out these twelve saplings that he brought back from Spain in 1623 which are the famous Cedars here atwitter there are three that survived these are the earliest statement of royalism which is going to be a feature throughout the seventeenth century of the relationship between the winds and the House of Stuart [Music] this is the queen's house in Greenwich the building was designed by the Great Architect Inigo Jones and it was intended as a gift from King James the first to his wife and a Denmark however she died during its construction and the building was put on hold Construction recommenced on the queen's house when king charles decided it would make a wonderful gift for his new wife henrietta maria a second level was even added by Inigo Jones and Henrietta became one of INGOs key benefactors just like her husband Henrietta Maria was a devoted patron of the Arts fortunately for the Queen she had some Richard win as a treasurer to help fund her artistic endeavors Sir Richard was sign of her payments and often aid with funds from his own estate so Richard Winn was now a firmly established figure in the Royal House of Stuart treasurer to the Queen consort groom of the bedchamber to the king this meant he had the right to touch the king a rare honor of course it's also meant he preparing the new king for his many portraits one of the Kings very favorite artists was the exceedingly popular Antony Van Dyke have you sat for many portraits yourself Richard one or two sire oh never for as school de man is master van Dyken the better sort no faster let us try that one there is Majesty in art if there be a lesson I took from Spain it is at my court should outshine all others just as England should outshine all nations accepting Wales of course except in Wales it's difficult to understate the impact that this genius of portraiture has he was like an impresario crying action and for the first time people genuinely began to move in pictures there was a feeling of illusion and realism in a way that Daniel might ins had slightly prepared the English for but Van Dyke swept the board with I mean one of the first things that he did and Charles the first of course was highly aware of the possibilities of an artist like Van Dyck he collected the works of Titian he was familiar and through osmosis of contact with the works of the high Renaissance he knew that there were ways of portraying him in his court in a way that was different from the past [Music] no it will not do take it away forgive me sir did you fashioned the collar Richard no so I purchased it for my wardrobe no sir never make defense or apology before you be accused advise fit for statesmen courtiers and husbands we shall try another physically speaking he was not pre possessing he had a slightly gnomish face very pronounced slightly googly eyes he was also very small he was five foot four he had bow legs I had rickets when he was young and so he needed an artist to transform this rather unprepossessing human form into something magnificent and I genuinely feel that when you look at those portraits of Charles the first Van Dyck has elevated him with a subtle manipulation of the brush into an almost christ-like figure frantic brought with him this this box of tricks from the Huayra de saucé and he dumped them down in London and with all the tools all the insights all the technical brilliance and proficiency all the sort of poetic mood that he was able to appeal his sitters with he transformed the way we looked despite a whirlwind start to his reign Charles face the same difficulties as his father King James the first a strange relationship at Parliament and an urgent need to raise funds through popular taxes would force his reign into extreme tensions were the thirty years war raging on the continent it wouldn't be long before the country plunged into its own Civil War and blood would flow [Music] so which win the own of guido castle here in north wales inherited his property and his titles from his father Sir John Wynn Richards brother Owen was a rakesh type interested in a variety of subjects including the mysterious business of alchemy owen preferred to stay here at the family home of gwydyr or Richard was busy in the core to the new king Charles the first [Music] Hugh Charles's reign had started at a frantic pace he married Henrietta Maria daughter of the King of France just a couple of months after gaining the throne and was already planning a war with Spain after those failed attempt to marry the Spanish in Fanta but Charles inherited the same problems as his father a poor relationship with Parliament and a misplaced trust in a particular figure at court the Duke of Buckingham he'd been a favorite of King James and retained a considerable amount of influence over King Charles as well there was a sort of intense friendship which I think started on both sides from a mutual regard of how powerful the other one was you know Buckingham because of his royal favour which he said he didn't want to lose for the change of ruler and Charles because he wanted to be loved by his father and what better way of being loved than to show favor for his favorite there was a sort of element of intelligence on both parts that diplomatic Lee they should make the most of each other because it was going to further their own interest but after James's death bokkeum maintained this extraordinary hold over the throne for the remaining three years of Buckinghams life from the very beginning Charles and Parliament don't get on distrust bills was very very quickly not least because Charles is pouring money into failed military campaigns led by Buckingham and Parma doesn't see why it should continue to give money he starts raising monies under his prerogative in ways which are truly controversial it is one of the major issues which generates the distrust of Charles that he's going to be the background factors for a civil wars us later despite a lack of finances charles pressed ahead with his intervention in the thirty years war an expedition was launched against spain Buckingham oversaw an alliance with a Dutch and the plan was effectively to engage in piracy by raiding Spanish treasure ships returning from the new world as gold and then to attack Spanish towns in order to drag the country out of the 30 Years War it was a complete disaster through bad luck Alan competence at least 1,000 English soldiers died with nothing to show for it people blamed the already unpopular Duke of Buckingham the record Parliament muted impeaching him and Charles dismissed them spare his friend but he couldn't protect the Duke of Buckingham from all of the threats on the 23rd of August 1628 Buckingham was stabbed to death in Portsmouth by disgruntled army officer Charles and the court mourned Buckingham deeply but the rest of the country pretty much celebrated his death the rift between King and country was growing deeper one of the officers Felton who had been on his first mission stabbed him to death and bokkeum knew the wound was faithful he actually called it out the shock in this country of the greatest non-royal in the country being just commonly assassinated was something absolutely astonishing a lot of people didn't like the influence Buckingham had but the thought of him suddenly being gone at the blade of an assassin was was something that would took a lot of coming to terms [Music] once Buckingham was dead Sir Richard Wynne was one of King Charles's most trusted advisors but he could also be viewed as one of the King's greatest benefactors Richard's father Sir John Wynne has been offered a baronetcy by King James and bought it at a hefty price only Parliament could levy taxes so Stewart monarchs had to find new inventive ways of acquiring funds if they were going to ignore Parliament asking Charles like to do he generated new income through the highly unpopular ship money levy first was essentially attacks intended for war time but it was now levied during peacetime it had only been imposed on counties that lay on the coast but it was now implied inland as well families like the winds would be the ones footing this massive tax bill drawn up by master Inigo Jones himself it's a bridge by these surveyor to his majesty it surprised the king can spare him he must be a man much occupied a generosity typical of his character 25 shillings and fourpence what 25 shillings and fourpence that's the Kings demand our apologies generosity that arrived this morning courtesy of the sheriff ship money owed on our rectory are we to dispute over 25 shillings it is but the latest demand brother we bear the Queen's debts we pay the kingship money were it not for the Irish estates with a king must have means to gild his palace well our roofs fallen Whitehall is dilapidated it shames the nation the nation has other concerns I've seen the pamphlets the printing press may echo a voice a thousand times over it is still but one man do not be swayed by mal factors in London the nation is happy I think one of the tragedies for the Stewart's is that they never had enough money and Parliament wasn't prepared to give enough or to tax enough in their own way Charles the first was very keen to get round this problem and to use whatever device he could come up with anything connected to the crown to raise money he would look at and ship money was the first really big disaster in terms of confrontation with people who were not prepared to put up with what they saw as an abuse of kingly power there is a case for it there was a big European war going on 20,000 English young people mainly are being captured by pirates coming from North Africa and taking them off to be slaves in North Africa Charles Affairs in fairness was building up the the Navy in in a very dramatic way which was good for the nation but to impose attacks on internal counties of England for the growing of the Navy was a really difficult concept for people who are being asked to pay it he will not recall Parliament then why I let that disputatious gather and disturb the peace I have conducted alchemic investigations these many years vapours foul and copious are a near-constant the naivety of my youth I saw it once to contain those airs less father catch up on the breeze into my designs I remember I kept a fermenting bottle yet my attempts at amelioration only worsened the explosion when it came Parliament is the bottle the country is the bottle I fear the long containment of grievance without safe release will bring us all to greater misfortune the king may rule without parliament so ever long he wishes it's not his prerogative i doubt brother but his wisdom it is a very fine bridge to do it without consulting parliament and then say well i have a right in a national emergency to raise these sorts of monies when in fact there's time to call a parliament is to abuse your power it was just the first major step of Charles being seen as an absolutist monarch in an unacceptable very ungracious way the 30 Years War had begun as a religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant states and although King Charles to disengage in the conflict the religious divisions within his own kingdoms did not disappear England Wales Ireland and Scotland all had their own unique and combustible mix of Catholics and Protestants many also suspected Charles of secret Catholic sympathies his wife was French his attempts to help Protestant allies in Europe was seen as half-hearted and together with his Archbishop of Canterbury William lord Charles passed a series of anti Calvinist reforms these are particularly unpopular in Scotland in 1639 the church and public there rebelled Charles couldn't stand this affront to his authority but he didn't have the funds to raise an adequate army Scottish forces swept into England seizing Northumberland and forcing the King to pay them for the privilege Charles had no choice but to recall Parliament humiliated by the Scots and backed into a corner by his finances Charles could not dismiss the members this time and the men of parliament quickly moved against Charles's government advisers were impeached a new AXA passed preventing the King from ruling alone in the way he had done the time seemed as a man with a Jew some days good some days bad I see not that good the remedy as ever is best found at home executing chief minister Strafford has purchased not a moment's respite had His Majesty not called Parliament last year I do believe the Earl of Warwick would have marched on London now bit by bit they Norway at his prerogative an act for preventing the long intermission of Parliament's an act declaring ship money unlawful and void an act for the regulation of the Privy Council His Majesty is most sensible of disrespect he will Brooke it though he says it is but a few malcontents goading and leading the rabble on I'm sure he has it right come home brother if it turns to conflict I would not have you here in London my place is with his majesty tensions are reaching boiling point in Ireland terrible killings took place between Catholics and Protestants rumours abounded Parliament wanted to impeach Charles's Catholic wife Henrietta Maria for collusion with the rebels that for the king was the last straw Charles marked on the House of Commons with an armed guard to arrest who he thought were his enemies the opposition wing leaders but the speaker refused to surrender the MPs not long afterwards Charles left London which was increasingly hostile to him further negotiations the Parliament failed soon both sides of raising armies at Nottingham on the 22nd of August 1642 Charles raised the royal standard the English Civil War had begun in order for that to be an English Civil War there has to be collapsed Authority in Ireland Scotland first you have to send an army to Ireland in order to safeguard the Protestants who have not been massacred you can't trust the king with that army but the King can't possibly be expected to ask King to give over the power to control armies to to a parliament that his alleged body is not an executive body so that becomes the non-negotiable issue in which all the tensions in England burst forth into violence I see the civil war coming from a shifting of tectonic plates to do with politics society and religion there were very very bloody things going on in the continent which show the the intensity of religious feeling on both sides there was a similar feeling over here about what is right religiously and people believed passionately to the point of death in their particular brand of Christianity I think one of the things but Charles the first almost his possession sin was tactlessness they were so in love with their idea of what the church was and how it could be beautified that they were stupidly intolerant of the Puritans definitely there was a class of people in the political sphere of England who believed that they should be representing the interests of the country versus the court and equally permanently you have Charles the first and for him James the first believing absolutely rigidly in the Divine Right of Kings so there's a sort of religious conflict and a philosophical one about who's actually in charge of this country and what is it about come everything is ready your majesty do you know what they say of me Richard in these pamphlets I do not read them so they say I brought Rome that I conspire for the propagation of popery in my kingdoms they are seditious so they are bein lewd and wicked but fire must with fire be matched I have all the printing press be conveyed to Oxford with the court very wise sire our own newsletter where they entice with empty falsehood we shall nourish with the truth so equipped well the people shake off their current sickness and better affection be to their king I shall return Richard and just such a welcome the stage was set a Civil War Charles on one side Parliament on the other Charles's belief in the Divine Right of Kings was about to be severely tested Charles set up his capital in Oxford his strength lay in the north and west where his parliament had the wealth in London and the South East and control of the Navy the initial battles of the Civil War were pretty much a draw alongside intermittent and futile peace talks father father is it from uncle Richard father what news of the war that's from one of our tenants Oh clothing you cannot pass army lines to reach market in Shrewsbury our drovers cannot take their cattle into England either perhaps they should fight instead if their Lord have not forbid it wisely they keep themselves apart and no matter if people think they're cowards if people talk of themselves we're I to hear such word I would correct it very seriously I think the Royalists were in the ascendant from the summer of 1642 until master more in 1644 marginally I think the energy of the Royalists was quite impressive but the fundamentals were against the Royalists the longer the war went on the Navy being for Parliament and London being for Parliament and then when the Scots came in that was really the turning point he did believe in the Divine Right of Kings he believed he was placed there by God it was his destiny but as an anointed king to be the supreme head of the British state whereas the Puritans fed with this Hebraic idea that there is only one king namely Almighty God disputed the idea that Charles Stuart that man of blood as they called him should mate any such claim I am a man grow we've spoken about this so not my duty to serve the king these people live in the mountains they sow no crop their livelihood is in coffin cattle only by rich market can they pay the rent only with their rent can we support the king that is our duty it is yours you cannot stop me that most of these drovers these clothiers are too old for the fight they are perhaps fearful of losing what they hold dear that does not mean that they have forgotten what it is to be young and eager I want to fight 16:45 was a turning point in the civil wars that so far been a stalemate many in Parliament's were unhappy that their advanced gym resources hadn't translated into victory they suspected some commanders of half-hearted leadership they demanded change so in January 1645 the New Model Army was founded it was to be professional well trained a national army not limited to one geographical area like the old militia and promotion which he based on merit not on social status the New Model Army first took to the field in late spring 1645 under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell its first major battle was on 14th of June at NIEHS B where it faced the Kings smaller but more experienced force the result a stunning victory for the new parliamentary force Naseby in Northamptonshire that's the one which really settles it because once the Kings main marching army has been destroyed and his wonderful wonderful infantry there's no way to come back for him the amount of territory he now occupies is too little to support the war effort the emerge the New Model Army his first great victory at Naseby is a clear sign that partment has an instrument that will ensure that they will not lose the benefits of their great victory in the middle Northamptonshire that neighs we defeat rolled Charles at his best men his artillery his stores and his grip over the royalist heartland of the West Country Charles were treated to his capital Oxford later Charles headed for Conway Valley in North Wales where he had loyal support it's believed that he came here to gwydyr Castle upon the invitation of Sir Richard wing Sir Richard Wynn was a side of King Charles as his brother Owen received this message at Whittier [Music] he ever was an unfortunate King had the winds been otherwise in 28 a fine victory might have been his in France instead he was garlanded with humiliation now defeat hurries quick upon defeat his last port is besieged his forces spent and word comes he would seek refuge here at gwydyr to receive a king that is an honor even I can recognise yet danger slipped through an open door offer your hand to a drowning man you may be pulled down with him paint ourselves to lurid a royal hue we mark ourselves as the victors prize but will glitter at the last reject Caesar should peace be struck his Kingdom retained he may remember the friends that betrayed him with more rancor than the enemies that fought him how chemical reaction once began cannot so easily be undone yet they will have an answer [Music] there was this king who was a charming man had lots of good qualities religious thoughtful very good family man but a terrible King and one who had taken very poor advice at a lot of key junctures the problem of Charles was he was just so weak and it used to drive Henrietta Mariah mad you see her letters to him from the safety of the continent saying you agreed to do this but you did that yet again what are you doing and he couldn't help themselves he just was easily swayable and this was not a decade the 1640s we could have a weak King and hope for a good outcome for the country or for him [Music] King Charles was running out of options he was forced to surrender to the Scottish army on the 5th of May 1646 and after months of negotiation Charles was given up into the custody of the English Parliament especially taken to prison Charles didn't give up hope he knew about growing divisions between the Scots and English act between Parliament and the New Model Army so he had a plan he made a secret agreement with the Scots they would invade England and with the help of the remaining wirless forces returned Charles to the throne in return Charles would establish a Scottish Presbyterian religion in England the king having lost the war tries to win the peace and he tries to pay off his enemies against one another but it's not impossible that couldn't have worked if he'd been a little bit more flexible in 1647 he could probably made a deal with the army and the army would have put him back on the throne in return and what they were demanding was complete religious freedom that there should be complete liberty and that was better for him I think than having a Presbyterian strict Scottish style church government he could have had an a weak Episcopalian system you know Church of England the weak Church of England we completely feed him outside and he he doesn't take that opportunity the second civil war flamed into life in 1648 but it was brief the New Model Army put down the royalist rebellions before defeating the Scottish forces at Preston in August Charles was forced to negotiate but those divisions which in the New Model Army and Parliament had not gone away Parliament voted narrowly to continue negotiating with the king but by now the army and Oliver Cromwell thought Charles a tyrant who had to be removed choosing between the radical demands of the army and a king who surely is chasing the miser than he was when we first fought him face by that the army had a choice and the army decides that God will not forgive them if they put man of blood this man who had caused all this suffering for the people and they put him back on the throne so the army occupies London it purges Parliament removes a majority of MPs and it puts the King on trial when finally the king is taken it's interesting that Sir Richard win of course as well as his royal duties was an impeding he then has to watch the the slow unraveling of the Royalists cause and he'd been in his service for all these years already when he was Prince and being all the way through having carried his robes at the coronation I think being with him on a drunken jaunt in Spain having done all those things with the king and then ultimately with Queen later must have been terrifying you difficult for anyone Cobra there was a strong element of parliament who were not in favor of the king being tried on any level it was a huge jump for people mentally to go from the king that they had always been taught as being a representative of God and a figure of great or even though he had been defeated in battle repeatedly even though he was reneging on agreements he was still the king and to a lot of loyalist members of parliament they could understand a way forward where the king might be persuaded to be a more acceptable form of himself the trial of a king was something new in England no existing court thought the trial legal sir Parliament had to create a special body to try Charles and it met for the first time in Westminster Hall on the 20th of January 1649 Charles was accused of high treason held responsible for all the death and destruction caused by the war of course Charles didn't recognise the courts authority he refused to enter a plea insisting the trial was not only illegal by English law but against God as well the colonel's of the New Model Army were the dominant force really in the trial of Charles the first they had seen too much bloodshed and they could then only see Charles as this famous phrase this man of blood he was no longer Charles King of England on a pedestal he was just another man who had caused this appalling bloodshed and I think it's always worth remembering that the english civil wars they caused the heaviest loss of life percentage of population in this country ever including the first world war and the casualties were even worse in scotland and considerably worse in ireland so i think that with all that in mind people thought those who hated the king by this stage or who suddenly loathe the bloodshed that went with the Kings cause I think they thought that if we can just lop the head off literally the crown then we could have a fresh start and and no more blood the court sentenced Charles to death he bade farewell to his children who with him to the end he requested two shirts so that he would not shiver from the cold and so give the impression of being afraid the king was beheaded on a scaffold outside banqueting house in Whitehall on the 30th of January 1649 [Music] you look tired are you there when they Richard may we all meet our deaths in so steadfast a spirit did they drown too many last words the soldiers kept us at a far remove a scaffold had been erected it was at the banqueting house designed by master Jones back our bridge I could not hear what he said I saw him speak a prayer and kneel at the block hands outstretched before him when the axe fell the crowd gave out a moan as I never heard before and desire I may never do so again Charles King and Marta Charles [Music] it's interesting with serrated wind just sort of fizzles out in a few months after the execution of the king he's dead he's dead himself in the 19th century they were too romantically said he died of a broken heart but he really had no purpose he's so fizzled out it's a sort of unspecific illness I think just wasted away probably through grief the House of Lords was abolished an executive power wielded by Parliament and it's Council of State the New Model Army was the most powerful force in Britain with Oliver Cromwell in command it swept aside all remaining military opposition in 1653 Cromwell disbanded Parliament he thought a quarrelsome and ineffective the seized power as Lord Protector in the end the bloody English civil war between King and Parliament saw both sides lose all the while across the sea Charles's son and heir waited in exile in the next episode of the stuarts a bloody rain the heir to the throne charles ii goes into hiding on the continent where he is stunned by the news that his father has been put to death for over a decade Charles travels an exile around the royal houses of Europe planning to overthrow Cromwell's Commonwealth and restore the House of Stuart but his attempts of in vain and it seemed all hopes are lost however the tides began to turn back in the Stuart's favor with the death of Cromwell and soon Charles a second to be welcomed with open arms by an adoring public in London the restoration of the monarchy sees a return to prominence for the win family as well but there are many enormous obstacles to overcome including a huge outbreak of the dreaded play and the Great Fire of London [Music] [Music]

Channel: Absolute History

Views: 176,148

Keywords: history history documentary funny history fun history school, timeline, mary queen of scots, reign, the stuarts, the tudors, bloody mary, house of stuart (royal line), mary stuart, the other boleyn girl, bloody mary queen of england, the 5th of november, stuarts, reign of terror, history, execution of mary stuart, the orchard, reign of terror robespierre, monarchy of the united kingdom (system of nobility), absolute history

Id: FiBncNcAIjQ

Length: 43min 51sec (2631 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 26 2019