Constitutional Royalism and the Search for Settlement, c.1640–1649

Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History

by David L. Smith

"Constitutional Royalism" is one of the most familiar yet least often examined of all the political labels found in the historiography of the English Revolution. This book fills a gap by investigating the leading Constitutional royalists who rallied to King Charles I in 1642 while consistently urging him to reach an "accommodation" with Parliament. These royalists' early careers reveal that a commitment to the rule of law and a relative lack of "godly" zeal were the characteristic predictors of Constitutional royalism in the Civil War. Such attitudes explain why many of them criticized the policies of the King's personal rule, but also why they joined the King in 1642 and tried to achieve a negotiated settlement thereafter.

392 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 1994