4th Parliament of King James I

Parliaments of England 1597–1689
Parliament Date 9th Parliament of Elizabeth I 1597 Final parliament of Elizabeth I 1601 1st parliament of King James I 1604 Addled Parliament 1614 3rd parliament of King James I 1621 4th Parliament of King James I 1624 Useless Parliament 1625 2nd Parliament of King Charles I 1626 3rd parliament of King Charles I 1628 Short Parliament 1640 Apr Long Parliament (1) 1640 Nov Oxford Parliament 1644 Long Parliament (2) 1645 Rump Parliament (1) 1648 Barebone's Parliament 1653 First Protectorate Parliament 1654 Second Protectorate Parliament 1656 Third Protectorate Parliament 1659 Rump Parliament (2) 1659 Long Parliament (3) 1660 Convention Parliament 1660 Cavalier Parliament 1661 Habeas Corpus Parliament 1679 Exclusion Bill Parliament 1680 Oxford Parliament 1681 Loyal Parliament 1685 Convention Parliament 1689
List of Parliaments of England

The fourth Parliament of King James I was the last Parliament of his reign, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 24 May 1624 and then from 2 November 1624 to 16 February 1625. It was dissolved on the death of the King on 14 March 1625.

The parliament was referred to as "Fælix Parliamentum" or the "Happy Parliament" by Sir Edward Coke.^[1] The three previous parliaments of James I had been a source of conflict and the King's opening address to the Commons commented on the "desire of all parties to forget past disagreements." However the parliamentary session was clouded by mutual suspicion and nearly every speech made tacit or explicit comments with reference to previous sessions.^[2] Prince of Wales Charles Stuart and the Duke of Buckingham used the Parliament to aid their push for a war against Spain. Buckingham and Charles played a large role in insuring the impeachment of Lord High Treasurer Lionel Cranfield, who was opposed to a war for financial reasons.^[3]

See also

• List of MPs elected to the English parliament in 1624
• List of Parliaments of England
• Duration of English Parliaments before 1660

Notes

References

• Coke, Sir Edward (1680), The third part of the Institutes of the laws of England : concerning high treason, and other pleas of the crown, and criminal causes 3 (6th ed.), London: Thomas Basset, p. 2 
• Ruigh, Robert E. (1971), The Parliament of 1624: Politics and Foreign Policy (illustrated ed.), Harvard University Press, p. 2, ISBN 9780674652255 
• Smith, David L. (1998), A History of the Modern British Isles 1603-1707: The Double Crown, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 0631194029