Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.
The English Civil War refers to a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War, the Second English Civil War and the Third English Civil War. The latter is also known as the Anglo-Scottish war, since most of the fighting took place in Scotland.
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. He intended it to pass financial bills, a step made necessary by the costs of the Bishops' Wars in Scotland. The Long Parliament received its name from the fact that, by Act of Parliament, it stipulated it could be dissolved only with agreement of the members; and those members did not agree to its dissolution until 16 March 1660, after the English Civil War and near the close of the Interregnum.
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, KB, PC was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the 17th century. With the start of the Civil War in 1642, he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads. However, he was unable and unwilling to score a decisive blow against the Royalist army of King Charles I. He was eventually overshadowed by the ascendancy of Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax, and resigned his commission in 1646.
John Pym, 20 May 1584 to 8 December 1643, was a politician and administrator from London, who played a major role in establishing what became the modern English Parliamentary system. One of the Five Members whose attempted arrest in January 1642 was a major step in sparking the First English Civil War, his use of procedure to out manoeuvre opponents was unusual for the period. Although this meant he was respected by contemporaries rather than admired, in 1895 historian Goldwin Smith described him as "the greatest member of Parliament that ever lived".
Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, was an English statesman, best remembered as one of the Five Members whose attempted arrest by Charles I in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War.
George Goring, Lord Goring was an English Royalist soldier. He was known by the courtesy title Lord Goring as the eldest son of the first Earl of Norwich.
Sir John Suckling was an English poet, prominent among those renowned for careless gaiety and wit – the accomplishments of a cavalier poet. He also invented the card game cribbage. He is best known for his poem "Ballade upon a Wedding".
Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, KG, JP was an English aristocrat, and supporter of the Parliamentary cause in the First English Civil War.
Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle was an English courtier known for her beauty and wit. She was involved in many political intrigues during the English Civil War.
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War, took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland – all ruled by Charles I. The conflict had political, religious and ethnic aspects and was fought over governance, land ownership, religious freedom and religious discrimination. The main issues were whether Irish Catholics or British Protestants held most political power and owned most of the land, and whether Ireland would be a self-governing kingdom under Charles I or subordinate to the parliament in England. It was the most destructive conflict in Irish history and caused 200,000–600,000 deaths from fighting as well as war-related famine and disease.
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646. It is part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652) and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Historians calculate some 15% to 20% of all adult males in England and Wales served in the military between 1639 and 1653, while around 4% of the total population died from war-related cause, versus 2.23% in World War I. These figures illustrate the impact of the conflict on society in general, and the bitterness it engendered.
Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans was an English Royalist politician, diplomat and courtier.
Sir John Urry, also known as Hurry, was a Scottish professional soldier who at various times during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms fought for Scots Covenanters, Engagers and Royalists, as well as both English Parliamentarians and Royalists. Captured at Carbisdale in April 1650, he was executed in Edinburgh on 29 May 1650.
William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford KG PC was an English nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited his Peerage as 5th Earl of Bedford and removed to the House of Lords. He fought in the Parliamentarian army and later defected to the Royalists during the English Civil War.
Endymion Porter (1587–1649) was an English diplomat and royalist.
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was a radical Puritan activist and leading member of the opposition to Charles I of England prior to the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. Appointed Parliamentarian commander in Staffordshire and Warwickshire, he was killed by a Royalist sniper at Lichfield on 2 March 1643.
Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport, c. 1597 to 12 February 1666, was an English courtier and politician, who held a number of positions under Charles I of England and supported the Royalists in the First English Civil War.
Henrietta Maria of France was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was mother of his sons Charles II and James II and VII. Contemporaneously, by a decree of her husband, she was known in England as 'Queen Mary', but she did not like this name and signed her letters "Henriette R" or "Henriette Marie R".
Henry Percy, Baron Percy of Alnwick, son of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, sat in the Short Parliament as the member for Portsmouth, and in the Long Parliament an M.P. for Northumberland; an originator of the "first army plot" in 1641, after which he retired to France. He was appointed general of the ordnance of the king's army and created baron, 1643; but fell in disgrace in 1644 through his desire for peace. In 1648 he resigned his command and went to France where he joined Queen Henrietta Maria's party. He died in France around March 1659.
