John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol (February 1580 – 16 January 1653 [1]), was an English diplomat and a moderate royalist during the English Civil War.
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John Digby was the son of Sir George Digby of Coleshill, Warwickshire and Abigail, daughter of Sir Arthur Henningham. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge.[1] King James I sent Digby to Madrid as his ambassador to Spain during the early 1610s, and Digby was a leading figure in the unsuccessful Spanish Match, the effort to marry Prince Charles to the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain. Digby was made the scapegoat, recalled and ordered to reside on his estates. Charles after his accession offered Digby his favour if he would admit his fault : Digby, always a stubborn and hot-tempered man, refused. Charles, infuriated, impeached him and sent him to the Tower of London; Digby, undaunted, made counter-charges against the Duke of Buckingham, the prime favourite. His trial never proceeded, although he remained in the Tower until 1628, and the affair seriously damaged the King's reputation as a man of honour.[2]
The murder of the Duke of Buckingham caused Digby to reconsider his opposition to the King: like the Earl of Strafford and others he was alarmed at Parliament's increasing radicalism. He offered his services to Charles and was reconciled with him. Charles, however, was slow to trust those who had ever opposed him and Digby had little influence through the 1630s.[3]
As the political crisis of the early 1640s mounted, Digby emerged as a trusted and moderate royal adviser, along with his son George, Lord Digby. At the Council of Peers held at York in September 1640 ,the King showed an unprecedented willingness to listen to Bristol's criticism of his policy, and agreed to his advice that a Parliament must be summoned.[4] 1641 saw a complete reconciliation between the two men: Bristol with the Earl of Bedford became leader of the moderate Royalists in the House of Lords, working to achieve a compromise with John Pym, and save the Earl of Strafford's life. After the collapse of the attempt at compromise Bristol was seen as a "hardline" royalist: as such Parliament imprisoned him after the outbreak of the Civil War, although he was later allowed to join the KIng at Oxford. After the King's defeat he moved to Paris and died there in 1653.
Clarendon, who knew and liked Bristol, gave a sketch of him:[5]
"Of a grave aspect, of a presence which drew respect, and a very handsome man who by the extraordinary favour of King James to his person was Ambassador to Spain before he was 30. Though he was a man of great parts and a wise man in Council he was passionate and supercilious and was too voluminous in discourse so that he was not considered there with much respect."
A modern historian praised him as the greatest servant of the English Crown of his generation.[6]
Lord Bristol lived at Sherborne Castle, Dorset. He married Beatrice Walcott in 1609 and they had two surviving children:
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Man |
English Ambassador to Spain 1610–1624 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Arlington |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Cottington Sir Denzil Holles |
Custos Rotulorum of Dorset 1642–1646 With: The Lord Cottington Sir Denzil Holles |
Interregnum |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Earl of Bristol 1622–1653 |
Succeeded by George Digby |
| Baron Digby (descended by acceleration) 1618–1641 |
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