The King's Assassin: The Fatal Affair of George Villiers and James I - Benjamin Woolley

Now a major TV series, Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine.The King’s Assassin is the scandalous story of George Villiers, lover – and murderer – of King James I.The rise of George Villiers from minor gentry to royal power seemed to defy gravity. Becoming gentleman of the royal bedchamber in 1615, the young gallant enraptured James, Britain’s first Stuart king, royal adoration reaching such an intensity that the king declared he wanted the courtier to become his ‘wife’. For a decade, Villiers was at the king’s side – at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.Almost immediately, Villiers’ many enemies accused him of poisoning the king. A parliamentary investigation was launched, but the charges came to nothing, and were relega