The King's Side

The majority of commissioners on each side were from the aristocracy or landed gentry. 10 of these were qualified lawyers. 2 were leading church figures. 2 had backgrounds in European diplomacy. Others were involved in colonial ventures. Several were patrons of the arts.

Some of the King's commissioners had been long-term favourites at the Royal Court. Others had started on the Parliamentary side, only to find themselves at odds with its more radical factions. Some had a history of fractious relationships with the King and his family which  continued long after the Treaty.

James Stewart
1st Duke of Richmond
1612 to 1655

• Third cousin of Charles I
• Gave large sums of money to the war effort
• Defended Oxford for the King

Edward Hyde
1st Earl of Clarendon
1609 to 1674

• Interested in literature and philosophy
• Looked after the royal princes at the Battle of Edgehill
• Described Cromwell as a 'brave bad man'

William Seymour
1st Marquis of Hertford
1588 to 1660

• Imprisoned in 1610 for marrying without the King's consent
• Lieutenant-General of Royalist forces in South-West England and Wales
• Was a pall-bearer at Charles I's funeral

Francis Seymour
1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge
1590 to 1664

• Had estates in Wiltshire
• Helped organise Royalist forces in the south-west
• Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1645

Christopher Hatton
1st Baron Hatton
1605 to 1670

• A prominent member of Charles I's household
• Collector of antiques and historical records
• Founding member of the Royal Society

John Colepeper
1st Baron Colepeper
c1600 to 1660

• Family had served in government since the 14th century
• Took part in the cavalry charge at Edgehill
• Was assaulted in the streets by another Royalist supporter after the 2nd Civil War

Sir Edward Nicholas
1593 to 1669

• Secretary of State
• Helped arrange the King's surrender to the Scots
• Called for the readmission of Jews into England for the first time since 1290

Francis Leigh
1st Earl of Chichester
1598 to 1653

• Originally a supporter of Parliament
• Colonel of the Royalist Cavalry
• Helped govern Oxford late in 1645

Sir Richard Lane
1584 to 1650

• Chief Baron of the Exchequer 
• Keeper of the King's Great Seal
• Negotiated the terms of the King's surrender in 1646

Thomas Wriothesley
4th Earl of Southampton
1607 to 1667

• Originally a supporter of Parliament
• Paid fines of over £6,000 at the end of the wars (over £700,000 in today's money)
• Admired for his integrity by diarist Samuel Pepys

Sir Orlando Bridgeman
1st Baronet of Great Lever
1606 to 1674

• Solicitor-General to Charles, Prince of Wales
• Member of the New England (trading) Company
• One of the judges appointed to settle land disputes after the Great Fire of London in 1666

Sir Thomas Gardiner
1591 to 1652

• Lawyer and politician
• Solicitor-General to the King in Oxford
• His daughter was Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I

Henry Pierrepoint
2nd Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
1606 to 1680

• Father killed in friendly fire
• Attended the King at Oxford
• Had a violent temper, assaulting a man in Westminster Abbey

Dr Richard Steward
[1593] to 1651

• Provost of Eton College and Dean of the Chapel Royal
• Clerk of the Closet to Charles I
• Died and buried in France

John Ashburnham
1603 to 1671

• Referred to by the King as 'Jack'
• Treasurer and paymaster to the King's army
• Started a tapestry-making business during the Restoration

Arthur Capel
1st Baron Capel of Hadham
1604 to 1649

• Owned land in ten counties
• Served in the King's Lifeguard at Edgehill
• Imprisoned as a Royalist conspirator in 1648, escaped, was betrayed then beheaded

Jeoffry Palmer

• No details available