In the 21st century, royal visits are often quite brief events, with high-speed travel, and an emphasis on public appearances and social events, rather than affairs of state. Four hundred years ago the picture was very different, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explains… In March 1603, following the death of Elizabeth I, her cousin James VI of Scotland became James I … Continue reading The jubilee tour of King James VI and I
Accusations of political sleaze are on the rise again, but the concept of government insiders profiting from the system is nothing new, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 project explains… If the Committee on Standards in Public Life had existed 400 years ago, it would have needed a rather different remit. While Jacobean politicians periodically attacked corruption and venality in government, it was … Continue reading What price a peerage? John Roper and the Jacobean trade in titles and offices
As a prelude to this month’s spotlight on politics in Scotland to mark St Andrew’s Day, Dr Paul Hunneyball, assistant editor of the House of Lords 1558-1603 project, examines one of the most sensitive questions in early 17th century politics – should Scots be allowed to sit in English parliaments?… Historical perceptions can be deceptive. The year 1603 is now primarily remembered as the moment when … Continue reading ‘None can sit here but a natural liegeman’: Scots at Westminster in the Jacobean era
This week is Parliament Week, a programme of events and activities that connects people across the UK with Parliament and democracy. To mark it, every day this week we are publishing a blog on ‘unlikely parliamentarians’ – the men and women across history who became parliamentarians only unexpectedly. In today’s blog, Dr Paul Hunneyball of the Lords 1603-29 section discusses a group of parliamentarians unlikely … Continue reading Unlikely MPs 3: Catholics in Parliament, 1604-1629
Today in 1600 James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) survived the Gowrie conspiracy thanks to the quick thinking of his page, John Ramsay. Our new research reveals that his heroics were even more impressive thanks to his young age, as Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of the House of Lords 1603-1660 section, reveals… On the morning of 5 August, 1600, James VI of … Continue reading The boy who saved a king
Today, on the anniversary of its opening 391 years ago, the History of Parliament is proud to announce the initial release of material from its on-going project on the 1624 Parliament. Hosted by British History Online, Proceedings in Parliament 1624: The House of Commons provides free online access to the first in a progressive release of the Commons’ debates during the final Parliament of the … Continue reading Publication of Proceedings in Parliament 1624: The House of Commons
In the latest of our series on English-Scottish parliamentary relations throughout the centuries, guest blogger Dr Alan MacDonald (University of Dundee) discusses the Scottish parliament’s response to James VI and I’s attempt at union between England and Scotland in 1604-7… On 11 August 1604, a parliament at Perth passed the ‘Act anent the unioun of Scotland and England’, completing a process that began three years … Continue reading Scotland and the Jacobean Union of 1604-7
The History of Parliament 