Mary & George.

 

A recently released Sky Atlantic drama, Mary and George, starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine, depicts the relationship between King James I of England and the courtier Earl of Buckingham, George Villiers. James described him as his "sweet child and wife." A contemporary French poem says: "It is well known that the King of England/Fucks the Duke of Buckingham."

The drama portrays the role played by Villiers' mother, Mary, in plotting her son's social advancement by way of the King's bed. It's well known that King James had many relationships with men and openly flirted with male courtiers in public. He also seems to have had an active sexual relationship with his wife Anne of Denmark, with whom he fathered seven children of whom three survived.

History has not been forthcoming about the male relationships that James had with men, but to portray King James as a prominent figure in LGBTQ+ history, is frankly laughable. He wrote tracts condemning sodomy even though he may have practiced it. He was known to be slovenly about his personal cleanliness and seldom washed himself.  

In the days of King James I, there was no such thing as a 'homosexual' and to be 'gay' depicted someone who was light-hearted and carefree which is still the true meaning of the word to this day.  In those days they called a spade a shovel and sexual acts between men was known as "buggery" and was frowned upon. It also became a capital offence punishable by death in 1533 with the passing of the 'Buggery Act.

Villiers relationship with the King may well have been simply a means to social advancement. In the ruthless world of the Stuart court, royal favour was everything. Villiers rose from a Knight to a Viscount and finally in 1623, he became the Duke of Buckingham. The Duke was stabbed to death on 23 August 1628, at the Greyhound Inn, in Portsmouth.