Now, you can read about whether King James VI/I’s predecessor, Queen Elizabeth I, was really the ‘Virgin Queen’ here . Croft, Pauline. King James, p.24, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2003); ISBN 0-333-61395-3 v]Bergeron, David M, King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 1999, p38 Sir Edward Villiers's second and third sons, John († c.1661) and George († 1699), succeeded as 3rd and 4th Viscounts Grandison, while the fourth son, Sir Edward Villiers († 1689), was father of Edward Villiers († 1711), who was created both Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 as well as Earl of Jersey in 1697. The 1st Earl of Jersey's sister, Elizabeth Villiers († 1733), was the presumed mistress of King William III of England from 1680 until 1695. Thomas Villiers († 1786), the second son of the 2nd Earl of Jersey, was created Baron Hyde and Earl of Clarendon in 1776. god blesse thee my sweete Steenie and sende thee a quikke and happie return with my sweete babie [Prince Charles who was 22], in the armes of thy deare dade and stewarde.’

Views of historians, up to the late twentieth century, were biased by prevailing negative social attitudes towards same-sex relationships. [1] Many historians did not discuss, or discuss only obliquely, the clear fact that James' choice of favourites was rooted, at least in part, in same-sex attraction: for example, the 1885-1900 Dictionary of National Biography refers only (in the context of Carr) to "James's partiality to worthless Scotsmen, if only they were sprightly and active" and to his "inordinate fondness" for Villiers. [5]James VI & I certainly enjoyed the company of handsome young men, sometimes shared his bed with his favourites and was often passionate in his expressions of love for them. [1] James was married to Anne of Denmark, with whom he fathered eight children. He railed fiercely against sodomy. [2] Fischlin, Daniel; Fortier, Mark (2002). Royal Subjects: Essays on the Writings of James VI and I. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p.175. ISBN 0814328776. Hon. Henry Montagu Villiers (4 January 1813 – 9 August 1861), Bishop of Durham from 1860 to his death.

Some years passed after the marriage before James and Anne's first child, Prince Henry, was born in 1594. In July 1592, James Halkerston was suspected of writing verses that suggested King James was homosexual and left his wife a virgin. [9] The claimed extra-marital attachment of the King to Anne Murray (see below) may have been promulgated to scotch such rumours. [ citation needed] A man so various that he seemed to be/Not one, but all mankind's epitome;/Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong,/Was everything by starts and nothing long;/But, in the course of one revolving moon/Was chymist, fiddler, statesman and buffoon../..Beggar'd by fools, whom still he found too late,/He had his jest, but they had his estate." Guy, Alan James (1985). Oeconomy and discipline: officership and administration in the British army 1714–63. p.163.

The couple had four children: Mary (1622), Charles (1625), George (1628) and Francis (1629). His second son was born after his death. George Villiers, the second son of Sir George Villiers, was born in Brooksby, Leicestershire, on 28 August 1592. Villiers was not a natural scholar, "but excelled in skills such as dancing, fencing, and riding, and since these were combined with exceptional good looks and charm of manner he was well equipped for life as a courtier". (1) Henry Benjamin Wheatley, Peter Cunningham, London Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions, Cambridge University 2011, p. 539 A miniature of Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset. Villiers’ predecessor in the King’s affections, Somerset’s scandalous private life alienated from the court and King, paving the way for his successor.

Gardiner, Samuel R. (1892). "James VI and I". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol.29. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. Seventh Report, Part 1, for March 1667, Report and Appendix. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. pp.468, 469 (for 1879). Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference In the 2003 British television mini-series Charles II: The Power and The Passion, Villiers is portrayed by the British actor Rupert Graves. [ citation needed] In 2017, the oil painting was examined by art historian Bendor Grosvenor at Pollok House, the former ancestral home of the Stirling-Maxwell family at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Scotland. [1] Prior to this examination, the portrait was thought to be a mere copy of a Rubens painting that had been lost. [2] Rubens, a pioneer of the Flemish Baroque tradition, is considered one of the most influential painters in history and his work is worth millions.

David McDonald, the chair of Glasgow Life, which runs the museums service, said: “Unsurprisingly, we are beyond delighted to discover the painting is by Rubens, an artist renowned globally as one of the most important painters in history.” When James first met his cousin in 1579, he was a thirteen-year-old orphan, controlled by dour older men in search of power and governed by the strict guidelines of the Presbyterian Church. Esmé Stuart, on the other hand, was thirty-seven, married with children and fresh from the French court. He was well-travelled, educated, fun and described as ‘of comely proportion, civil behavior, red-bearded, and honest in conversation’[iii].Whatever James’ sexuality might have been, Esmé dazzled him, bringinglight into his studiously lonely world. One contemporary witness noted how James was not ashamed to show his affection for Esmé whenever the moment took him: Elizabeth Villiers († 1654), daughter of Sir George Villiers († 1606), married John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield. Despite being James’ lover, Carr fell in love with his mistress, Frances Howard, the wife of the Earl of Essex. James was not against his favorites marrying and he openly assisted Carr in having Frances’ first marriage annulled so that she would be free to marry him. The king paid for the wedding and, as a gift, he created the new couple the Earl and Countess of Somerset. The marriage later cooled and was marked by several marital frictions. Queen Anne was particularly upset with James placing the infant Prince Henry in the custody of John Erskine, Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle, in keeping with Scottish royal tradition. [10] In the course of the marriage, Anne's relationship with her husband alternated between affection and estrangement. [8] The two had 8 children with the last being born during 1607 although some sources cite that by 1606, they had already started living in separate establishments. [11] James lost interest in his wife and it was said that she led a sad, reclusive life afterward, appearing at court functions on occasion. Despite his neglect of Anne, James was affected by her death and was moved to compose a poem in her memory. [12] 'Mistress': Anne Murray [ edit ]

Lord Francis Villiers (bef. 21 April 1629– 7 July 1648), died in a skirmish at Kingston during the Second English Civil War. His subsequent negotiations with Oliver Cromwell's government, and his readiness to sacrifice the interests of the church, separated him from the rest of Charles's advisers and diminished his influence. His estrangement from the royal family was completed by his audacious courtship of the king's widowed sister Mary, Princess of Orange, and by a money dispute with Charles. [8] Return and imprisonment [ edit ]