George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (28 August 1592-23 August 1628) was an English nobleman who served as Master of the Horse of England from 1616 to 1628 (succeeding the Earl of Worcester and preceding the Earl of Holland) and as King James I and Charles I's favorite until his assassination in 1628.
Biography[]
George Villiers was born in Brooksby, Leicestershire, England on 28 August 1592, the son of a minor gentleman. In 1614, he caught the eye of King James I of England at a hunt in Apethorpe, and he impressed the King with his new clothing, handsome appearance, and dancing skills, partly with the aid of nobles opposed to the King's favorite Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset. He became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1615, Master of the Horse in 1616, Marquess of Buckingham in 1618, and Duke of Buckingham in 1623. King James nicknamed Buckingham "Steenie" after the angelic Saint Stephen, and the King called Buckingham his "wife" in a 1623 letter to his favorite, while Buckingham told the King, "I will live and die a lover of you." Buckingham used his influence to enrich and advance his relatives, creating several new rivals. In 1623, as Lord Admiral, he accompanied Charles, Prince of Wales to Spain to find him a bride, but Buckingham's crassness led to the collapse of agreement with Spain. Buckingham gained popularity for calling for war with Spain on his return to England, and he also oversaw the declaration of war on France in 1625 and again in 1627 to assist Huguenot rebels during the French Wars of Religion. He was blamed for England's defeat at the 1627-1629 Siege of La Rochelle and in Ernst von Mansfeld's 1625 expedition to the Palatinate. Parliament twice failed to impeach Buckingham, and, on 23 August 1628, he was stabbed to death by a disgruntled former army officer at the Greyhound Pub in Portsmouth.