17th Century English School "portrait Of George Villiers, Duke Of Buckingham"

English School of the 17th century"Portrait of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham"Oil on canvasDimensions: 66 x 53 cm unframedGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (Brooksby, 28 August 1592 – Portsmouth, 23 August 1628), was an English nobleman and politician, favorite of James I Stuart, and de facto head of state during the last years of the reign of James, his great protector, and during the early years of his son and successor Charles I Stuart. It is believed that the disastrous conduct of English policy during his years in power laid the foundations for the outbreak of the Civil War that followed. His favour with James I was actually due to a love affair: the king himself described himself as "father and husband" of George Villiers. George Villiers was the son of Sir George Villiers, from the decadent minor nobility, and Mary, daughter of Antoine Beaumont of Glenfield. At a very young age, he was sent to France to be prepared for court life. Under James I Stuart, he rose to prominence in a few years, becoming Lord Admiral (1619), then Viscount, Earl, Marquess, and finally Duke of Buckingham in 1623. On 16 August 1620, he married Katherine Manners, daughter of Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland, later Baroness de Ros. In 1623, he worked to establish an alliance with Spain, promoting the marriage of the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, daughter of Philip III, and Prince Charles, whom he accompanied to Madrid for this purpose. In 1625, he concluded a triple alliance with Denmark and the Netherlands. In May 1626, after a disastrous operation against the Spanish at Cadiz, Parliament attempted to pass a motion of censure against him. To prevent the expulsion of his protégé, the king dissolved the House in June. The Star Chamber also rejected Parliament's challenge. In 1627, when war broke out with France, he commanded a naval and land expedition in support of the Huguenots at La Rochelle, but after a four-month campaign, he was defeated. Upon his return to England, Parliament attempted to pressure the sovereign to dismiss the Duke, but the latter again intervened on his behalf. The acceptance of the Petition of Rights of 1628 led to condemnation of Buckingham's excessive power and attribution of it to England's failures in recent years. George Villiers with his wife Katherine Manners and their children Mary and George. George Villiers was assassinated on August 23, 1628, by the Protestant John Felton, a fanatical sailor who believed that the death of the Duke of Buckingham would serve the good of the country. He left a son, George, who was his heir. His monumental tomb is in Westminster Abbey.