The Man Who Killed the Duke of Buckingham
On this day 392 years ago, John Felton died. A man who might otherwise have not gone down in history at all, those that do not recognise his name will most likely be familiar with George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Felton’s connection to Villiers is rather morbid: he was the man who killed him.
Prior to assassinating the Duke, Felton was a lieutenant in the English Army who fought in Spain and France under his command. The expedition he participated in at Saint-Martin-de-Ré failed spectacularly, costing some 5,000 English lives to a French loss of around one-tenth the size, despite the English army outnumbering the French. Felton had also attempted to gain captaincy of some troops during the expedition but had been denied his request. This would have undoubtedly led to some resentment of Villiers on Felton’s part along with his belief that he was owed — but had been denied — £80 pay. Despite this, it’s hard to imagine that Felton would have gone as far as murdering Villiers were it not for his extreme unpopularity among the nobility and the general public.
George Villiers was made a Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1615, Master of the Horse the following year, and Duke of Buckingham in 1623. Quickly becoming the most important favourite of King James I, essentially replacing Robert Carr who had been the king’s closest friend (and possibly lover)…
