The King's Assassin

Now a major TV series, Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine. The Kings 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, Britains 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 kings side at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to Jamess 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 relegated to a historical footnote. Now, new historical scholarship suggests that a deadly combination of hubris and vulnerability did indeed drive Villiers to kill the man who made him. It may have been by accident, but there is compelling evidence that Villiers, overcome by ambition and frustrated by Jamess passive approach to government, poisoned him. In The Kings Assassin, acclaimed author Benjamin Wooley examines this remarkable, even tragic story. Combining vivid characterization and a strong narrative with historical scholarship and forensic investigation, Woolley tells the story of King Jamess death, and of the captivating figure at its centre. What emerges is a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed those around him and, ultimately, himself.