The Assassination of George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham
In 1627, George Villiers led an English expedition to France in an attempt to aid the protestant forces who were battling against the Catholics. The expedition was so badly mismanaged that it failed in every respect and returned to England in shame. Such was the national embarrassment that Parliament attempted to bring charges against Villiers for corruption and incompetence, only to be thwarted by King Charles, a friend of the Duke of Buckingham. Charles cleared Villiers and even helped him to organize a second expedition.
As this second expedition was being readied in Portsmouth, George Villiers was murdered by John Felton, one of his former officers. The crime happened on April 23, 1628 just after the Duke had eaten breakfast. He was heading for his carriage when Felton walked up and stabbed him. So quick was the crime that even the Duke's guards didn’t realize what had happened and thought their master was suffering a fit. Once it was realized what had happened an alarm was raised. Meanwhile, instead of fleeing the scene, John Felton called out his guilt and attempted to die fighting. Despite his wish, Felton was overpowered and taken alive.
The trial of John Felton
After his capture, Felton explained that he had killed the Duke both out of personal revenge (Villiers owed him money and passed him over for promotion) and for the good of the public and Protestantism. There were many in the country who were sympathetic to John Felton’s actions. One who was not, was King Charles. He ordered that Felton be tortured on the rack, made to confess who was behind the murder, and that his murderous hand be caught off. When brought in for questioning and threatened with the rack, Felton coolly stated that no one had prompted him to the murder, but that if he were put on the rack he could not say whose name he would call out under torture. In the end, and against Charles’ wishes, the Judges decided that both torture and dismemberment were unlawful.
The execution of John Felton
Felton was hung on October 28, 1628. On the scaffold he admitted to his sins, but maintained that he had acted alone, and the only one who had pushed him to the murder was Satan himself. Although Fenton was probably little more than a common murderer, the response to his crime was an early indication of the growing divide between the Crown and the people.
John Felton in the Three Musketeers
Many years later, the writer Alexandre Dumas used the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham as part of the giant conspiracy plot that runs throughout his greatest novel, the Three Musketeers. In his book, John Felton was an unwitting agent of Cardinal Richelieu.
Primary Information for this article was obtained from God’s Fury, England’s Fire: A New History of the English Civil Wars by Michael Braddick, Allen Lane, 2008.
