| | | 1625 | Mar 27 - Charles I becomes King of England |
| Charles became the first person to succeed to the crown of both England and Scotland. His father James was King of Scotland (James VI) and later King of England (James I). |
| May 11 - Proxy marriage of Charles and Henrietta Maria |
| Proxy wedding of Charles & Henrietta in Paris. |
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| Jun - Charles' First Parliament |
| Charles I called his first Parliament in June of 1625. His aim was to raise money for war against Spain although he did not tell Parliament what the money was for. Parliament refused to give the full amount and gave only limited funds. Parliament restricted Charles to collect 'Tonnage and Poundage' for only one year. Before this 'Tonnage and Poundage' was collected at any time. There were concerns over Charles' marriage to his Roman Catholic wife and favouritism shown to her religion. Further concerns related to the Duke of Buckingham and his influence over the King. Charles dissolved the Parliament in August without achieving his aims.
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| Jun 13 - Charles marries Henrietta Maria |
| Charles marries Henrietta Maria de Bourbon in St Augustine's Church at Canterbury. |
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| Aug - Plague |
| Britain was affected by another outbreak of the plague. |
| Oct - Failure of Cadiz expedition |
| A fleet of English warships was ordered by the Duke of Buckingham to sail to southern Spain to intercept Spanish ships bringing back treasure from South America. They failed to capture any ships and turned their attention to Cadiz. Although the troops landed and took the harbour they were poorly provisioned. Finding large amounts of wine the troops became drunk and the attack was reduced to a complete failure. The expedition returned to England in shame. |
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| Dec 9 - Treaty of the Hague |
| A treaty signed by England and the Netherlands agreeing to pay Christian IV of Denmark a large sum of money to maintain his campaign in Germany as part of the Thirty Years War. |
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| 1626 | Feb - Plague lessens |
| The plague's affects had diminished in London |
| Feb - Charles' Second Parliament |
| Charles called his second Parliament again to raise funds for his military exploits. To improve his chances of success Charles gave appointments of County Sheriff to those who had previously opposed him. It was not possible for Sheriffs to be members of the Commons. Parliament was led by Sir John Eliot who criticised the King's and Buckingham's failed military expeditions. Charles dissolved Parliament again without getting his funds. |
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| Feb 2 - Charles crowned |
| Charles I was crowned at Westminster Abbey. |
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| Jun - French attendants dismissed |
| Charles dismissed Henrietta's French entourage sending them back to France against the wishes of his wife. 6 out of 440 remained to look after her. |
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| Jun 15 - Charles' second Parliament dissolved |
| Charles dissolved Parliament after first arresting Sir John Eliot. The king was still short of money so he resorted to 'forced loans' from well-off people in the country. Those who did not pay were threatened with imprisonment without trial. Charles also forced people to give shelter and food to his soldiers. |
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| 1628 | Mar - Charles' Third Parliament |
| Charles called another Parliament intent on getting money for more military campaigns. He wanted to finance another attack on La Rochelle. Parliament refused to give any money unless the king agreed to terms set out in the 'Petition of Right'. - ending of forced loans
- ending of enforced billeting of troops
- no taxation with Parliamentary approval
- end to imprisonment without cause shown
- end to martial law
Charles agreed to the Petition and Parliament gave him the money he required. |
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| Jun 26 - Parliament dissolved |
| Although Parliament had agreed to give the King his money, it also pressed for the arrest of Buckingham. To protect Buckingham, Charles dissolved Parliament. |
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| Aug 23 - Buckingham murdered |
| John Felton, a sailor with either a personal or political grudge against Buckingham, stabbed the Duke in Portsmouth during a breakfast meeting. Felton did not flee but gave himself up. John Felton was found guilty of murder and hanged. |
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| 1629 | May 13 - Birth of Charles's first child |
| Henrietta gave birth to her first child, Charles James Stuart, but he died the same day. |
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| 1630 | May 29 - Charles (II) born |
| Charles (II), the future King of England was born at St. James's Palace in London. |
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| 1633 | Apr 10 - Bananas first seen in England |
| A banana tree was shipped from the Bahamas to by a Mr Johnson who put it in his shop. |
| Oct 14 - Birth of James (II, King of England and Scotland) |
| James was the fourth child of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. |
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| 1637 | Coins minted at Aberystwyth Castle |
| Charles I gave Thomas Bushell permission to produce coins. He set up the mint inside Aberystwyth Castle. Bushell used locally mined Welsh silver. The mint was moved in 1642 because of the war. |
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| 1640 | Apr 13 - The Short Parliament |
| Charles I called Parliament to ask for taxes to raise money for war against the Scots. Parliament agreed to grant the King 'twelve subsidies' on the condition that 'ship money' was abolished. Ship money was a tax normally imposed at time of war to allow the King to build ships for the defence of the country, but Charles had imposed this tax in peace times without Parliament's consent which was illegal. John Pym stood up against the King and complained about how he was running the country. Charles grew impatient and disolved Parliament on May 5, only three weeks after Parliament was called. |
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| Jul 8 - Henry Stuart born |
| The son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France was born on this day. |
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| Aug 20 - Scots invade the north of England |
| Alexander Leslie, the Scottish Field Marshall, with a force of some 20,000 soldiers marched into northern England. |
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| Aug 28 - Battle of Newburn Bridge |
| At Newburn, a crossing on the River Tyne, the Scots met a force of English troops. The English, who were untrained and low on supplies, were easily defeated and the Scots marched on to the nearby town of Newcastle. The town fell to the Scots. |
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| Sep 24 - The Great Council called |
| In light the serious Scottish invasion, Charles called a Great Council at York. The Great Council or 'Magnum Concilium' was a meeting of the King's tenants-in-chief and advisors. A Great Council had not been called for several hundred years. Although the meeting agreed to assist the King with a loan it preferred to negotiate with the Scots. |
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| Oct 26 - The Treaty of Ripon |
| The Treaty of Ripon, signed by Charles I, agreed to pay the Scots £850 a day while they held control of Durham and Northumberland. |
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| Nov 3 - The Long Parliament |
| Charles I was forced to call Parliament to raise money to pay for a continued war with the Scottish. Parliament was led by John Pym who opposed the King. Parliament agreed to give Charles some money in return for concessions. These included the removal of Charles' closest advisors, Archbishop Laud and Thomas Wentworth Viscount Strafford. Laud would be kept in the Tower of London while Strafford would be executed. |
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| 1641 | Feb - Marriage negotiations |
| Charles I arranged the marriage between his eldest daughter, Mary Princess Royal, and William, the Prince of Orange. |
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| Mar 22 - Trial of Earl Strafford begins |
| Earl Strafford's trial commenced. |
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| May 12 - Strafford Executed |
| Earl Strafford was executed on Tower Hill. |
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| Oct - Irish Rebellion |
| A rebellion of Irish Catholics in Ulster erupted. They attacked the Protestants who were living in the area. The rebellion targeted Dublin but was unable to take the city. |
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| Nov 22 - Grand Remonstrance |
| Parliament passed the Grand Remonstrance, a list of grievances against King Charles. Parliament was unhappy with the King's advisors and wanted the King to allow Parliement to choose who should advise him. |
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| Dec 21 - William Balfour dismissed |
| Charles I dismissed Sir William Balfour from his position as Constable of the Tower of London because of his support for Parliament against the King. |
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| 1642 | Jan 4 - Charles attempts arrests |
| Charles I, with a small band of soldiers, attempted to arrest key leaders of Parliament including John Pym. When Charles arrived at Westminster he found that the men had already left and had found sanctuary in the city of London. Charles had little support in the city and had little choice but to leave. |
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| Feb 13 - Charles agrees to Bishops' Exclusion Bill |
| Charles agreed to the Bill that forced the exclsion of Bishops from the House of Lords. |
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| Feb 23 - The Queen looks for support |
| Queen Henrietta Maria left the country via Dover looking for support for her husband from abroad. She took the Crown Jewels with her presumably to sell to raise money. |
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| Mar - Earl of Warwick takes control of navy |
| Parliament authorised Robert Rich, the Earl of Warwick to take control of the English Navy before King Charles did so. |
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| Apr - Robert Monro attacks the Irish |
| Robert Monro and a force of some two thousand Scottish soldiers landed in Ireland at Carrickfergus to put down the Irish rebellion. |
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| Apr 23 - Charles refused entry to Hull |
| The city of Hull had a large store of weapons and both Parliament and King Charles wanted to take control of it. Parliament had wanted the arms to be shipped to the Tower of London for, they said, use in Ireland against the rebels, but Charles refused. Charles sent his son Prince Rupert to Hull on the 22nd of April and he had been welcomed. When Charles arrived a day later the Governor of Hull, Sir John Hotham a supporter of Parliament, refused him entry fearful that the King would take the arms by force. |
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| Aug 22 - Charles I raises standard at Nottingham Castle |
| Charles I declared war by raising his standard at Nottingham Castle. |
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| Sep 9 - Earl of Essex leaves London |
| The Earl of Essex left London and marched to Northampton with a force estimated at somewhere around 15,000 men. The troops were untrained and had not been organised into regiments. |
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| Sep 13 - Charles leaves Nottingham |
| Charles left Nottingham Castle and marched his army towards Shrewsbury. |
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| Sep 23 - Royalist victory at Powick Bridge |
| Royalists led by Prince Rupert defeated a Parliamentarian force emerging from Powick Bridge that crossed the River Teme near Worcester. The Royalists attacked before the Parliamentarians had time to organise themselves, driving them back across the bridge. Prince Rupert's reputation as a formidable commander was made at this engagement. |
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| Sep 28 - Charles reached Shrewsbuy |
| By the end of September King Charles had reached Shrewsbury where he was warmly greeted. |
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| Oct 12 - Charles leaves Shrewsbury |
| Charles left Shrewsbury and headed south east in the general direction of London. The Earl of Essex learnt of Charles' movements some days later and moved to intercept the king. |
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| Oct 23 - Battle of Edgehill |
| Charles moved his army to the top of Edgehill overlooking a large plain and the village of Kineton near Warwick. The king had been alerted to Essex's army approaching and choosen the high ground the night before. The two armies were roughly equal is size, both having around 12 thousand men. The Royalist having more cavalry but less foot soldiers. The Royalist cavalry on the flanks came down the hill and attacked, driving back the flanks of the Parliamentarians. Meanwhile, in the centre of the field, the Parliamentarians were driving back the Royalists. After a day of fighting both sides fell back and camped on the field. The next day Essex began to withdraw his army to Warwick. Essex declared Edgehill a victory but this was a victory for the Royalists. |
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| Oct 27 - Banbury captured by Royalists |
| The Royalists led by Charles moved on Banbury. The town surrendered without a fight and the Prince Rupert took control of the nearby Broughton Castle. |
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| Oct 29 - Charles makes Oxford his base |
| Charles moved his army from Banbury to Oxford and made the town his base of operations. |
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| Nov 4 - Prince Rupert attacks Windsor Castle |
| In early November Charles took Reading while Prince Rupert was attacking Windsor Castle. Prince Rupert's efforts failed so he turned his attention south to Brentford dealing the Parliamentary forces a heavy blow. Charles' next objective was to take London but the Londoners put an army together. When the Londoners' army was reinforced with the army of the Earl of Essex there was a standoff. The Royalist and Parliamentary armies faced each other at Turnham Green but Charles was outnumbered and chose to withdraw. |
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| Dec - Winter at Oxford |
| Charles sent the winter at his base at Oxford. |
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| 1643 | Feb 22 - Queen Henrietta Maria returns |
| The Queen returned from Holland, landing at Bridlington on the North Yorkshire coast. She brought with her supplies to assist her husband with his war efforts. |
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| Mar - Lichfield under siege |
| Lichfield Cathedral, surrounded by a defensive ditch and walls, was held by Royalist forces assisted by Royalist supporters in the Cathedral itself. The town of Lichfield as a whole supported Parliament and a Parliamentary force began a siege to take back the Cathedral. After an initial assult failed with the death of the commander of the Parliamentary force a new man, Sir John Gell, arrived to take command. Under his leadership the Royalists were removed from the Cathedral. |
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| Mar 24 - Waller gets Royalist surrender |
| Sir William Waller crossed the River Severn and surprised a garrison of Royalist soldiers. The soldiers were without a commander and were not prepared. The Royalist cavalry fled while the infantry surrendered. |
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| Apr 13 - Battle of Ripple Field |
| Prince Maurice, younger brother of Prince Rupert, defeated Sir William Waller at Ripple Field near Worcester. |
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| Apr 20 - Prince Rupert retakes Lichfield |
| The Royalists under the command of Prince Rupert were determined to retake Lichfield Cathedral. Prince Rupert had a mine dug beneath the walls that surrounded the Cathedral and packed it with explosives. Before he blew the mine he had given those inside the walls a chance to surrender but they refused. The wall was breached and after a fight the Royalists retook control. This is generally thought to be the first time explosives were used in a mine in this way. The Cathedral suffered substantial damage at this time and was not fully restored for hundreds of years. |
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| Jul 5 - Battle of Lansdown Hill |
| This battle was fought along a steep sided ridge near Bath. The Parliamentarians were led by Waller. The Royalists were led by Sir Ralph Hopton and Sir Bevil Grenville. Waller took advantange of the high ground and the Royalist suffered serious casualties as a consequence. The Royalists managed to reach the top of the hill and Waller moved his men back behind a defensive wall. Waller waited until the dark of night then moved his army off the battlefield. Sir Bevil Grenville was killed in the fighting and the day after the battle Hopton was seriously injured, suffering temporary blindness, when an ammunitions cart exploded. |
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| Jul 10 - Royalists cornered at Devizes |
| The Royalists were badly affected by the injuries suffered at Lansdown Hill especially when Hopton was injured by the ammunitions explosion. Waller took advantage of the Royalist armys' weakened state and chased them to Devizes where they took refuge. |
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| Jul 13 - Battle of Roundway Down |
| Once Charles learnt that Hopton was being held at Devizes, he sent Wilmot to meet up with Prince Maurice and put together a Royalist army to free the town. The Royalists and Parliamentarians met at Roundway Down just north of Devizes. Wilmot was able to drive the Parliamentarians back towards the top of a steep slope where, as the Parliament army fell, many were killed. The slope is now known as Bloody Ditch. |
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| Aug - Corfe Castle rescued |
| Corfe Castle was being besieged by Parliamentary forces. Inside the castle Lady Mary Banks with a small number of defenders had managed to hold the castle against much larger number of men outside. Lady Mary's husband, Sir John Banks, was elsewhere with King Charles at the time. Prince Maurice attacked and drove off the Parliamentary besiegers. |
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| 1644 | Feb - Haverfordwest Castle falls |
| Parliamentary forces led by Colonel Laugharne captured Pill Fort and the Royalists garrisoned at Haverfordwest Castle panicked and fled leaving the castle open for Laugharne's men to take. |
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| 1647 | Nov - Charles I held at Carisbrooke Castle |
| Charles I took refuge at Carisbrooke but the castle later turned out to be his prison from where he attempted several times to escape but failed. |
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| 1648 | Destruction of Haverfordwest Castle |
| Cromwell ordered that the castle at Haverfordwest should be demolished. |
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