Charles I, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland: Early Life

He became heir to the throne on the death of his older brother Henry in 1612 and was made prince of Wales in 1616. The negotiations for his marriage to the Spanish infanta were unpopular in England, and Charles himself turned against Spain after his unhappy visit to Madrid (1623) in the company of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham. Apart from these negotiations, he took little part in politics before he succeeded (Feb., 1625) his father as king.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Civil War and Execution
• Renewed Struggles with Parliament
• The Years of No Parliament
• Early Struggle with Parliament
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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