CHARLES I OF ENGLAND

Charles I of England: translation

(1600-1649)

The son of James I and Anne of Denmark, Charles I became next in line to the British throne in 1612 when his elder brother died. In 1623, negotiations for his marriage to the Infanta Maria of Spain began, but these fell through when the Spaniards demanded that Charles convert to Catholicism. Instead he married Henrietta Maria of France, daughter ofHenry IVandMarie de' Medici, also a Catholic. He ascended the throne in 1625. Confrontations with Parliament and the Puritans, who opposed his marriage to a Catholic and his religious policies, resulted in civil war, his trial, and execution. Charles was an important patron of the arts.Orazio Gentileschibecame his court painter in 1625 and rendered theAllegory of Peaceon the ceiling of the Queen's House in Greenwich (1638-1639), built byInigo Jones.Peter Paul Rubenspainted for Charles theApotheosis of James I(1629) for Inigo's Banqueting House in Whitehall Palace, in front of which the king was executed in 1649.Anthony van Dyckwas also in Charles' court and paintedLe Roi à la ChassePortrait of CharlesI; 1635; Paris Louvre, one of the most remarkable royal portraits in history.