by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Favorite: a person treated with special or undue favor by a king, queen, or another royal person

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, a courtier and favorite of King James I of England and his son King Charles I until a disgruntled army officer assassinated him, was born on August 28, 1592, in Brooksby, Leicestershire, England. George was the second of the three sons and the second of the four children of Sir George Villiers (circa 1544 – 1606) and his second wife Mary Beaumont (circa 1570 – 1632).

George had three siblings:

• Susan Villiers (1589 – 1652), married William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh, had five children
• John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck (circa 1590 – 1657), married Frances Coke, no children
• Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey (died 1630), married Elizabeth Sheldon, had two children

George had five half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Audrey Saunders who died in 1588:

• Sir William Villiers, 1st Baronet (circa 1575 – 1629), married (1) Anne Griffin, no children (2) Anne Fiennes, had one child (3) Rebecca Roper, had three children
• Sir Edward Villiers (circa 1585 – 1626) married Barbara St. John, had ten children, grandparents of Barbara Villiers,1st Duchess of Cleveland, mistress of King Charles II
• Elizabeth Villiers (died 1654), married John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield, had eight children
• Frances Villiers, unmarried
• Anne Villiers (born 1588), married Sir William Washington (elder brother of Lawrence Washington, the great-great-grandfather of George Washington), had two children

Sir George Villiers, George’s father, was a well-to-do sheep farmer. He was High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1591, knighted in 1593, and a Member of Parliament from 1604 until his death in 1606. George’s mother Mary Beaumont was a penniless cousin of her husband but she had ambitions for her second son George. She recognized that he had potential and found the funds to send George to the French court where he learned courtly skills and improved his French. When George returned from France, Mary provided him with a suitable wardrobe and sent him to the English court in 1614 where he quickly became the new favorite of King James I. As George rose, his mother, his siblings, and his half-siblings rose along with him. In 1618, King James I retorted that he lived to no other end but to advance the Villiers family.

In 1615, George was knighted and became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. He became Master of the Horse in 1616, was raised to the peerage as Baron Whaddon, Viscount Villiers, and was also made a Knight of the Garter. In 1619, George was made Lord High Admiral of England. In 1617, George was created Earl of Buckingham and climbed the steps of peerage when he was created Marquess of Buckingham in 1618, and Duke of Buckingham in 1623.

George’s mother Mary chose Katherine Manners, the only surviving child of Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland, and the richest woman in England, to marry George. However, because Katherine was Catholic, King James I refused to allow the marriage, and Katherine’s father refused to accept the demands for an extremely lucrative dowry. Katherine did convert to the Church of England which greatly upset her father. Apparently, George’s mother Mary entrapped Katherine into the marriage by arranging for her to spend the night under the same roof as George, ruining her reputation, and leaving her family with no choice but to allow her to marry George. George and Katherine married on May 16, 1620.

George and Katherine had four children:

• Mary Villiers (1622 – 1685), married (1) Charles Herbert, Lord Herbert, no children (2) James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, had two children (3) Colonel Thomas Howard, no children
• Charles Villiers, Earl of Coventry (1625 – 1627), died in childhood
• George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1628 – 1687), married Mary Fairfax, no children
• Lord Francis Villiers (1629 – 1648), unmarried, died in a skirmish at Kingston during the Second English Civil War

Whether the personal relationship between King James I and his male favorites was a sexual one is still debated by historians. Some historians think that James I’s need for a close male favorite came from a lack of family while growing up in Scotland where he became King of Scots when he was one-year-old. James I did not know his parents Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots and he had no siblings. His maternal grandparents died before he was born. His paternal grandfather died while James was still a boy and his paternal grandmother lived in England. James I compared his love for George to Jesus’ love of his apostle John when he spoke to his Privy Council about rumors in 1617: “You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George.”

George was King James I’s constant companion and closest advisor until the king died. George had a great influence on James I’s son and successor, the future Charles I, while he was Prince of Wales. By 1624, an increasingly ill James I was finding it difficult to control Parliament. By the time of his death in March 1625, Charles and George had already assumed de facto control of England. At the end of King James I’s reign and the beginning of King Charles I’s reign, George had a number of diplomatic and military failures that caused Parliament to refuse to fund any more of his endeavors. Parliament then attempted to impeach George twice but King Charles I rescued him by dissolving Parliament both times. George was widely considered a public enemy by the English people. George’s physician Dr. Lambe, popularly supposed to have an evil influence on him, was killed by a mob in the street. A pamphlet published after Dr. Lambe’s death said:

Let Charles and George do what they can
The Duke shall die like Doctor Lambe

 John Felton (1595 – 1628) had been an army officer and had submitted petitions to the Privy Council over two matters, back-pay he believed he was owed, and his promotion to captain, which he believed he had been unfairly denied. He was not successful in resolving these matters and believed George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham was responsible. Felton further believed that his grievances against George were part of George’s treacherous and wicked influence on the English government. He decided to kill George and traveled to Portsmouth where he knew George was staying.

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Assassination of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

On August 23, 1628, George was staying at the Greyhound Inn in Portsmouth, England while planning another military campaign. After having breakfast, George left the inn. John Felton made his way through the crowd that surrounded George and stabbed the 35-year-old Duke of Buckingham in the chest with a dagger, killing him. Felton could have escaped in the resulting chaos but instead, expecting to be well received, he confessed to the gathering crowd. He was immediately arrested, taken before a judge who then sent him to London for interrogation. Because of the unpopularity of the Duke of Buckingham, Felton’s deed received widespread approval and was celebrated in poems and pamphlets. After being tried and found guilty, John Felton was hanged on November 29, 1628, at Tyburn, the principal place for execution in London.

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The Chapel of St. Nicholas at Westminster Abbey where George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham is buried

King Charles I ordered George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham to be buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England in the Chapel of St. Nicholas which had previously been reserved for those only of royal descent.  A lavish tomb of black and white marble and bronze was constructed by his widow in 1634 with an effigy of George and his wife Katherine although she is not buried there. Katherine succeeded to one of her father’s titles Baron de Ros of Helmsley upon his death in 1632, becoming the18th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley in her own right. She married for a second time to Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim in 1635, and went to live at Dunluce Castle in County Antrim, Ireland. Katherine survived her first husband by twenty-one years, dying in Waterford, Ireland, probably of the plague. She was buried in Waterford but there is a memorial to her in Westminster Abbey.

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Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Villiers (Died 1606). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Villiers_(died_1606)> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Villiers, 1St Duke Of Buckingham. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Villiers,_1st_Duke_of_Buckingham> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. John Felton (Assassin). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Felton_(assassin)> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Katherine Villiers, Duchess Of Buckingham. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Villiers,_Duchess_of_Buckingham> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mary Villiers, Countess Of Buckingham. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Villiers,_Countess_of_Buckingham> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Personal Relationships Of James VI And I. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_relationships_of_James_VI_and_I#George_Villiers.2C_1st_Duke_of_Buckingham> [Accessed 10 December 2020].