Born in Brooksby in 1592 - Died in Portsmouth in 1628.
English politician. "His beauty, in truth, exceeded the common", writes of him Philippe Erlanger.
Thanks to her, thanks also to some political skill, Steenie, as the future Duke of Buckingham was nicknamed, won the favor of King James I of England, then that of his son, Charles I. This friendship, paternal in one, fraternal in the other, places him at the head of the affairs of the kingdom of Great Britain. Opposed to the Puritans, favorable to the Catholics, he worked to strengthen the royal prerogatives and to restrict the power of the Parliament which, during his ministry, Charles I dissolved twice.
Barely created Duke of Buckingham, George Villiers seeks the French alliance. As part of this policy he concluded, after difficult negotiations, the marriage of the new King of England, Charles I, with Princess Henriette, sister of Louis XIII. The nuptials celebrated by proxy on May 11, 1625, Bouquinquant, this is the name given to the handsome Englishman by the subjects of the King of France, came to pick up the young bride on May 24 in Paris.
The fairness of the duke, the prettiness of his features, the refinement of his clothes, the trunks that accompany him contain no less than twenty-seven sets, move all the ladies of France. Even the first of them, Queen Anne of Austria, did not escape the formidable charm of Charles I's favourite. She shows him a somewhat too lively interest, which he is publicly infatuated with. And, at the instigation of her confidante, the formidable Duchess of Chevreuse, she receives him secretly on various occasions. This plot will inspire Alexandre Dumas to create the famous Three Musketeers.
Ducal gallantry will have serious consequences. Louis XIII, irritated by the attitudes of George Villiers, forbids him to reappear in his States. Furious, Buckingham denounces the French agreement and, thus satisfying his irreducible enemies the Puritans, decides to send relief to La Rochelle. Quite basely, he also avenged himself for the hostility of Louis XIII by joining his persecutions to the persecutions which his compatriots continued to pursue Queen Henriette.
The day before embarking for the continent, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, dies from a stab wound in the chest by a fanatical Puritan officer, John Felton. A miniature reproducing the features of Anne of Austria will be found on her corpse.