Buckingham, George Villiers, 1st Duke of

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Buckingham, George Villiers, 1st Duke of (1592–1628) English statesman and court favourite of James I and Charles I. Buckingham joined the court of James I in 1614, and rapidly acquired a series of titles. In 1623, he was largely responsible for the breakdown in negotiations of marriage between Prince Charles and the Spanish Infanta Maria. In 1624, he arranged Charles' marriage to Henrietta Maria. Buckingham's failure to provide adequate supplies for an English expedition to the Palatinate led to charges of political incompetence. The disastrous expedition to capture Cádiz (1625) led to his impeachment, but Charles dissolved Parliament. In 1627 he led another unsuccessful campaign to relieve the Huguenots at La Rochelle. He was murdered by a discontented naval officer.

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