Childhood
Charles's personality as a politician was shaped by a difficult childhood. He was born on 19 November 1600, the third child of James VI of Scotland and his wife Anne of Denmark. During his early years he suffered from a combination of poor health and lack of parental affection. When he moved to England after James's accession in 1603 it was difficult to find a noble family to look after him because of fears that he might die on their hands; and he grew up very much in the shadow of his glamorous elder brother Prince Henry and his sister Elizabeth. It was not until Henry's death in 1612 that people began to take notice of him. What they found was a shy and extremely gauche adolescent, with a pronounced stammer which he never got rid of and a tendency to fits of rage and jealousy, directed particularly towards the young men who dominated his father's affections. An incident in 1616 when, in the presence of the court he turned a water fountain full in the face of George Villiers and soaked him to the skin was indicative of his early frustrations.
'During his early years he suffered from a combination of poor health and lack of parental affection'
Charles as a young man was certainly not the stuff of which seventeenth century rulers were supposed to be made. Yet within a few years of his accession to the throne in 1625 he had transformed himself into a dignified, kingly figure every bit as impressive as his counterparts on the continent. This transformation came about partly through an effort of will power and self-control. Although lacking in confidence, Charles was acutely aware of the responsibilities of his office and made himself play to the full what he regarded as the proper role of a king. In spite of his stammer he regularly delivered public speeches on occasions such as the opening of parliament and earned considerable respect for doing so. He also exercised close control over the processes of royal government. The extent of this has been underestimated by some historians because they have tended to be taken in by claims that he was dominated by favourites such as the duke of Buckingham, or by his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria.
In fact, a close examination of administration and decision making suggests that Charles was very much in charge. He diligently attended to the paperwork of government, to the extent that one historian has described him as 'a royal swot'. He kept close control of senior appointments and was personally responsible for such crucial decisions as the appointment of Bishop Juxon as lord treasurer in 1636, seen by some as heralding a take over of government by the clergy He was also in charge of decisions about going to war, making peace and summoning parliament which were the most important a contemporary monarch had to make. The one area where his control was less than complete was in the church, where he relied on Laud to translate his high-church, anti-puritan vision into a reality; but even here his influence remained paramount because Laud was always conscious of the need to fulfil his master's wishes in order to retain favour.
Published: 2001-05-01
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