Charles I of England

Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England. As he was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, many in England feared that he was attempting to gain absolute power. There was widespread opposition to many of his actions, especially the levying of taxes without Parliament's consent.
Religious conflicts permeated Charles' reign. He married a Catholic wife, Henrietta Maria, over the objections of Parliament and public opinion. Charles further allied himself with controversial religious figures, including the ecclesiastic Richard Montagu, and William Laud, whom Charles appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud produced changes in the liturgy of the Church of England which many of Charles' subjects felt brought the Church of England too close to Roman Catholicism. Charles' later attempts to force religious reforms upon Scotland led to war that weakened England and helped precipitate his downfall.
The last years of Charles' reign were marked by the English Civil War, in which he was opposed by the forces of Parliament—who challenged his attempts to augment his own power—and by Puritans, who were hostile to his religious policies and apparent Catholic sympathy. The first Civil War (1642 - 1645) ended in defeat for Charles, after which the parliamentarians expected him to accept their demands for a constitutional monarchy. Instead, he remained defiant, provoking a second Civil War (1648 - 1649). This was considered unacceptable, and Charles was subsequently tried, convicted and executed for high treason. The monarchy was then abolished, and a republic was established, called the Commonwealth of England. Charles' son, Charles II, became King after restoring the monarchy in 1660.
Charles is also the only person to be canonized by the Church of England since the English Reformation.
Early life
The second son of James VI, King of Scots and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born at Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. He was an underdeveloped child (he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the nation's shortest king) who was still unable to walk or talk at the age of three. When Elizabeth I died in March 1603 and James VI became King of England as James I, Charles was originally left in Scotland in the care of nurses and servants because it was feared that the journey would damage his fragile health. He did make the journey in July 1604 and was subsequently placed under the charge of Alletta (Hogenhove) Carey, the Dutch-born wife of courtier Sir Robert Carey, who taught him how to walk and talk and insisted that he wear boots made of Spanish leather and brass to help strengthen his weak ankles. As an adult Charles was 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm) tall.
Charles was not as well-regarded as his elder brother, Henry, Prince of Wales; Charles himself adored Henry and tried to emulate him. In 1605, as was then customary in the case of the Sovereign's second son, he was created Duke of York in England. Two years before, in 1603, he was created Duke of Albany in Scotland. When his elder brother died of typhoid in 1612, Charles became heir apparent and was subsequently created the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in November 1616. His sister Elizabeth married in 1613.
The new Prince of Wales was greatly influenced by his father's favourite courtier, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, who took him on an expedition to Spain in 1623 to look for a suitable bride, and settled on the daughter of the Spanish King Philip III, Infanta Maria of Spain. No marriage occurred, however, as the Spanish demanded the Prince of Wales' conversion to Roman Catholicism. Upon their return in October, both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Buckingham demanded that James I declare war on Spain.
With the encouragement of his Protestant advisors, James summoned Parliament so that he could request subsidies for his war effort. James also requested that Parliament sanction the marriage between the Prince of Wales and Princess Henrietta Maria of France, whom Charles met in Paris whilst en route to Spain. It was a good match since she was a sister of Louis XIII (their father, Henry IV, had died during her childhood). Parliament agreed to the marriage, but was extremely critical of the prior attempt to arrange a marital alliance with Spain. James was growing senile and as a result was finding it extremely difficult to control Parliament—the same problem would later haunt Charles during his reign. During the last year of his reign, actual power was held not by him but by his eldest son and the Duke of Buckingham.