Charles I: Personal Rule

• Charles dissolved them


  Because of his anger at the continuing challenges to what he saw as his Royal Prerogative and the failure of his parliament to be compliant
• Privy council

  • Gained more power
  • Charles' close advisors such as Weston gained more power
• Prerogative courts


  • Star Chamber (made of privy councillors selected by the monarch)
  • High commission (was the chief court of the church used by Laud to enforce sentenced by Star Chamber)
• Absolutism

  Form of government when the king has unlimited power over his subjects
• Focus was to maintain royal authority in affairs
• Council


  • Composed of key advisors and officials
  • Controlled the Lord Lieutenants of each country
  • Below them was the JPs
• CHIEF ADVISORS

  THOMAS WENTWORTH: opposed forced loan and favoured Petition of Rights, argued with Eliot and then become loyal to Charles


  WILLIAM LAUD: became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633
• THOROUGH

  Developed by Thomas Wentworth, he was despised by other previous allies for being a traitor

  • Involved making royal government more efficient and effective 
• Pros of Through

  • New roads, improvement to postal services, reform of the Navy

  Courts worked faster

  • Better administration

  Centralised of decision-making
• Cons of thorough

  • JPs and officials were given a lot of workload
  • Structure of government did not change
  • Local interests were sacrificed
• CHARLES’ PROGANDA

  Charles changed his image in his paintings to make himself look more angelic. However, most portraits stayed in royal places, he was very indifferent to his subjects
• DATE

  1629-40
• SUPPORTERS OF PERSONAL RULE

  • Little opposition from the public
  • Gentry continued to administer Charles’ rule
• CHARLES AND THE ROYAL COURT

  • The court was supposed to be a model of moral restraint
  • His court was more formal than James because he was more remote