George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
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His Grace The Duke of Buckingham KG |
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|---|---|
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| Master of the Horse | |
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In office 1616–1628 |
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| Preceded by | The Earl of Worcester |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Holland |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 August 1592 Brooksby, Leicestershire, England |
| Died | 23 August 1628 (aged 35) Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Manners, Baroness de Ros |
| Children |
Mary Stewart, Duchess of Richmond Charles Villiers, Earl of Coventry George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Francis Villiers, 1628–1648 |
| Parents |
George Villiers Mary Beaumont |
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, KG (/ˈvɪlərz/; 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite—and a lover—of King James I. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first three years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated by a disgruntled army officer.
George Villiers was born in Brooksby, Leicestershire, on 28 August 1592, the son of the minor gentleman Sir George Villiers (1550–1604). His mother Mary (1570–1632), daughter of Anthony Beaumont of Glenfield, Leicestershire, was left a widow early and educated him for a courtier's life, sending him to France with Sir John Eliot.
Villiers took very well to the training set by his mother: he could dance and fence well, spoke a little French, and was overall an excellent student. Bishop Godfrey Goodman declared Villiers to be "the handsomest-bodied man in all of England; his limbs so well compacted, and his conversation so pleasing, and of so sweet a disposition."
In August 1614 at age twenty-one, Villiers caught the eye of James I at a hunt in Apethorpe. Opponents of the king's favourite Robert Carr saw an opportunity to usurp the Earl of Somerset and began promoting Villiers. Money was raised to purchase Villiers a new wardrobe, and intense lobbying secured his appointment as Royal Cupbearer, a position that allowed him to make conversation with the king. Villiers began to appear as a dancer in masques from 1615, in which he could exhibit his grace of movement and beauty of body, a recognised avenue to royal favour since the time of Elizabeth I.
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