ABSTRACT
The accession of Charles I in March 1625 was generally welcomed by the English people; large crowds gathered in the streets to cheer the news that he had succeeded his father and one newsbook went so far as to describe him as ‘Great Britain’s Charlemagne’. The beginning of a new reign was usually marked by a general sense of optimism at a fresh start, but in 1625 there were more concrete grounds for believing that the new king would prove a success. It was already abundantly clear that he would take his responsibilities extremely seriously, that he would be a more dignified and ‘regal’ head of state than his father, and that he would preside over a much more orderly and restrained court. As the first adult male monarch since Henry VIII to have been brought up in England, he was also seen as someone who had a good understanding of the country and its political and religious institutions. Since his return from Madrid in 1623 he had enjoyed considerable popularity for his championing of an aggressively antiSpanish foreign policy, and he had co-operated so closely with the MPs of the 1624 parliament in pursuance of this policy that he had gained a reputation as a prince ‘bred up in parliaments’.
