The Stuarts: A Bloody Reign
Four kings from the House of Stuart sat on the English throne from 1603 to 1688. It was a time of great religious struggle and political instability. The Gunpowder Plot nearly wiped out King James I. The Thirty Years War broke out on the continent. A civil war erupted which led to the public beheading of King Charles I and the birth of a commonwealth headed by Oliver Cromwell. London was ravaged by the plague and the Great Fire of London. Throughout this series we look at the reign of the Stuarts through the powerful Wynn family at Gwydir Castle in North Wales, one of the best time capsules from that era. The story of the Wynn family reflects the turbulent history of this Stuart era. They had close connections with this new royal house and their status would rise and fall with the successes and failures of Stuart rule.
Episodes
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, King James VI of Scotland claims her throne along with a new title of King James I of England. He faces numerous attempts on his life, including the notorious Gunpowder Plot, and the threat of the terrifying Thirty Years War raging on the continent. For the aristocratic Wynn family of North Wales though, this new reign of the Stuarts would provide great opportunities but also terrible dangers.
King Charles I succeeds his father King James I in 1625. The ties between the Wynn family and the ruling Stuarts grows ever closer as Sir Richard Wynn joins his King on an ill-fated voyage intended to gain the Infanta of Spain’s hand in marriage. Having failed, Charles marries the daughter of the King Of France instead, putting a Catholic Queen back on the throne. Religious upheaval along with Charles’ dismissal of Parliament and authoritarian rule eventually leads to a civil war. In the end, a king is beheaded and a commoner named Oliver Cromwell seizes power.
Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth comes to an end soon after his death and in 1660 an exiled King returns to London with enormous fanfare. King Charles II’s reign is a dramatic shift away from the rule of the Puritans that preceded him but the dual tragedies of the worst outbreak of plague in generations and the Great Fire Of London strike the nation’s heart. The Wynn family of North Wales, having suffered under Cromwell, return to royal favour.
King James II succeeded his brother King Charles II in 1685. He was a Catholic monarch of a Protestant nation and attempts had already been made to prevent him from claiming the throne. The last of the Stuart Kings would reign for only three years and it would be his own daughter, Mary, who would cause his downfall. She, along with her husband William of Orange, would overthrow the House Of Stuart and see King James II sent into exile. It was also the end of the powerful Wynn family of North Wales. Their status would rise and fall with the Stuart Kings that they served.
