He was the richest man in England, the King’s best friend, a literal genius, and a total disaster. Honestly, if you tried to pitch the life of George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a Netflix series, the writers would probably tell you to tone it down. It’s too much. The guy was everywhere during the Restoration, doing everything, and usually making a mess of it.
He inherited a fortune that would make a modern billionaire blush. He spent it on chemistry labs, violins, horses, and massive, ego-driven architectural projects that he never quite finished. People called him "the alchemy of wit."
But here’s the thing about Buckingham. He wasn't just some pampered aristocrat. He was a survivor. His father, the first Duke, was assassinated when George was just a toddler. He grew up in the royal household of Charles I, basically treated like a prince, only to see that entire world burn down during the English Civil War.
He fought. He went into exile. He wore disguises. He eventually came back to become the most influential—and most hated—man in the court of Charles II.
The Man Who Had Everything (And Blew It)
When we talk about the George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham, we’re talking about a man who defined the "Cavalier" archetype. Tall. Handsome. Ridiculously charming. He was the kind of person who could walk into a room, insult half the people there, and still leave with everyone wanting his approval.
His wealth was staggering. We are talking about vast estates across England, including Cliveden and York House. But Buckingham didn't just sit on his money. He threw it at his interests. He was obsessed with the new sciences. He was a fellow of the Royal Society. You’d find him in a lab, covered in soot, trying to turn base metals into gold or experimenting with glass manufacturing.
He actually succeeded in the glass business, by the way. He held a monopoly on plate glass and flint glass, which actually helped kickstart the British glass industry. But the money flowed out faster than it came in. He was a patron of the arts, specifically the theater. He didn't just watch plays; he wrote them. His play The Rehearsal was a massive hit that basically invented the "mockumentary" style of satire, poking fun at the dry, serious dramas of his rival, John Dryden.
Why George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham Was a Political Nightmare
Politics in the 1660s was a blood sport. Buckingham was a key member of the "Cabal" ministry. This wasn't some shadowy conspiracy (well, mostly it was); "CABAL" was an acronym for the five ministers who ran the show: Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale.
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Buckingham was the "B."
He was terrible at the actual work of governing. He was impulsive. He’d skip meetings if he had a hangover or a new mistress to visit. Yet, he had this weird, almost hypnotic hold over Charles II. They had grown up together. They shared the same cynical, sharp-tongued sense of humor.
But then there was the scandal.
If you know one thing about the George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham, it’s probably the duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury. It’s the stuff of trashy historical romance novels, except it actually happened. Buckingham was having a very public affair with the Countess of Shrewsbury. Her husband, naturally, wasn't thrilled. They met for a duel at Barn Elms in 1668.
The legend says the Countess was there, dressed as a page boy, holding Buckingham’s horse while he ran her husband through. Whether that’s true or not, the Earl died of his wounds, and Buckingham moved the Countess into his house while his wife was still living there. Even for the debauched court of the Restoration, this was a "holy crap" moment. It damaged his reputation permanently. People could forgive a lot back then, but killing a man and then parading his widow around was a bridge too far for the public.
The Versatility of a Renaissance Mess
Let's get into his mind for a second.
Buckingham was a mass of contradictions. He was a libertine who wrote religious tracts. He was a royalist who occasionally flirted with radical republicans just to spite his enemies at court. He was incredibly brilliant but lacked any sort of "follow-through."
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The poet Samuel Butler wrote a famous character sketch of him, saying he was "a man so various that he seemed to be not one, but all mankind's epitome." Basically, he tried to be everything at once and ended up being nothing for very long.
- He was a soldier who fought at the Battle of Worcester.
- He was a chemist who understood the properties of light.
- He was a satirist who could destroy a reputation with one couplet.
- He was a politician who helped negotiate the Treaty of Dover (the secret parts of which he was actually kept in the dark about because the King didn't trust him with the real secrets).
Honestly, his life was a sequence of high-stakes gambles. Sometimes he won, like when he successfully navigated the treacherous waters of the "Popish Plot" hysteria to take down his rivals. Sometimes he lost, like when he ended up in the Tower of London. He was sent to the Tower multiple times. Most people would find that traumatizing. For Buckingham, it was just a place to catch up on his reading and wait for the King to get lonely and let him out again.
The Tragic, Lonely End
You’d expect a guy like this to go out in a blaze of glory. Or maybe a spectacular execution.
Instead, the George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham died in a cold, damp room in a farmhouse in Yorkshire.
By the 1680s, his luck had run out. Charles II died in 1685. The new King, James II, didn't have much use for a chaotic, aging prankster. Buckingham’s debts had finally caught up with him. He was broke—or as "broke" as a Duke can be, meaning he was down to his last few estates and dodging creditors.
He was out hunting in April 1687, got a chill, and developed a fever. He died a few days later in Kirkbymoorside. The man who had lived in the most opulent palaces in Europe died in a tenant's bed.
It’s a bit of a cliché, the "fallen greatness" trope, but Buckingham really lived it. He went from being the most powerful man in the kingdom to a cautionary tale.
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Why We Still Care About Him
Why does he matter now?
Because he represents the sheer, unbridled energy of the Restoration. That era wasn't just about wigs and fancy parties; it was a time when the world was being remade. Science, theater, and politics were all colliding, and Buckingham was the spark at the center of that collision.
He shows us that talent isn't enough. You can be the smartest, richest, funniest person in the room, but if you don't have a moral compass or a bit of discipline, you’re just a firework. You make a big noise, you look pretty for a second, and then you’re gone.
How to Understand Buckingham Today
If you’re researching the George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham, don't just stick to the history books. They often paint him as a one-dimensional villain. To get the full picture, you have to look at the primary sources.
- Read "The Rehearsal": It’s actually still funny. You can see how he used humor as a weapon.
- Look at the Portraits: Lely and Kneller painted him. Look at the eyes. There’s a restlessness there that tells you more than a biography ever could.
- Visit Cliveden: While the house there now isn't his original building, the site exists because of his vision. It’s a monument to his massive ego.
- Study the "Cabal": If you want to understand how modern cabinet government started (and how it can go horribly wrong), that’s where to look.
He was a mess. A brilliant, wealthy, dangerous, hilarious mess. But the history of England would be a lot more boring without him.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you want to truly grasp the impact of this figure, your next step should be a deep dive into the Restoration period's satirical literature.
Buckingham wasn't just a subject of satire; he was a creator of it. Start by comparing his work, The Rehearsal, with John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel. In Dryden’s poem, Buckingham is immortalized as the character "Zimri." It is perhaps the most devastating character assassination in the English language.
Reading those two works side-by-side gives you a front-row seat to a 17th-century "rap battle" between two of the greatest minds of the age. It reveals the personal animosity, the intellectual depth, and the sheer pettiness that drove the politics of the era. Once you see how they tore each other apart in print, the duels and the political backstabbing start to make a lot more sense. You’ll see that the 2nd Duke of Buckingham wasn't just a man; he was a symptom of a society trying to figure out its own identity after a decade of puritanical rule.