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• In 1642, the king tried to arrest some M.Ps and have them put in prison, but they escaped.
• Some of the king's friends were Catholics.
• Charles spent a lot of money on paintings, his family and the expenses of the royal court.
• In 1626, parliament refused to raise money for the king.
• Charles' wife was a Catholic.
• Charles was shy, quiet and had a bad stutter.
• Charles was only 4 feet 7 inches tall.
• Charles' wife was French.
• In 1634 Charles imposed an unpopular new tax called "Ship Money."
• Some text books suggest that Charles firmly believed he should keep all the real power of ruling the country to himself and that no-one had the right to question his decisions.
• Charles was very fond of dogs, particularly spaniels.
• In 1640, Charles fought a war against Scotland and lost it.
• Charles made changes in religion which many people disliked and cut off the ears of some of the people who complained.
• In 1625, an expedition against Spain was a disastrous defeat.
• Later in 1642, Charles got an army together and declared war on parliament.
• In 1628, Charles waged a military campaign against France and lost.
• In 1629, Charles dissolved parliament and ruled without one for the next 11 years.
• In 1640, the Irish rebelled against Charles.
• In 1641, Charles had to go to parliament to ask for more money to fight the Irish and the Scots.
• Later in 1642, after the attempt to arrest the 5 M.Ps, there were riots and demonstrations against the king in London. He had to leave London for his own safety.