George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (30 January 1628-16 April 1687) was an English statesman and a founder of the Whig party.
Biography[]
George Villiers was the son of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and he wsa only seven months old when his father, the favorite of Kings James I and Charles I, was murdered. He was raised in the royal household of King Charles, and he was educated at Cambridge. During the English Civil War, he served under Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and he distinguished himself during the Second English Civil War. He was appointed to the exiled King Charles II of England's Privy Council in 1650, and he supported the alliance with the Scottish Presbyterians, fighting alongside Charles at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 before fleeing to Rotterdam on the Royalist defeat. He fell out with the royal family for negotiating with Oliver Cromwell's government, and he returned to England in 1657 and married the daughter of Thomas Fairfax. He persuaded Fairfax to support the Restoration in 1660, after which he re-entered Charles II's favor and became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. Buckingham was imprisoned by Charles on several occasions due to their political differences before rising to be one of his most influential advisors, becoming a key member of the Cabal ministry in 1668. Buckingham advocated for religious toleration, but he took an active part in prosecuting those implicated in the "Popish Plot" and promoted the return of Whig candidates to Parliament. In 1674, he was dismissed and driven into political opposition. He was restored to the king's favor in 1684, six years after the Exclusion Bill crisis, but he took no major part in public life after King James II of England's accession to the throne, and he died in 1687.