George
Digby, the son of the Earl of Bristol, was born in 1612. Elected to
the House of Commons he was an opponent
of Charles I until the arrest of Thomas
Wentworth,
Earl of Strafford. He now became a close associate of the king and
recommended the arrest of the Five
Members
(Arthur
Haselrig, John Pym, John
Hampden, Denzil Holles and William
Strode)
in January 1642.
On
the outbreak of the Civil
War
Digby joined the Cavaliers
and
fought at Edgehill
(October,
1642). He was given command of the Royalist northern forces and after
being defeated in 1645 he sought refuge in France.
Digby
became a close adviser to Charles
II and
served as his Secretary of State in exile. He was dismissed from this
post after becoming a Roman
Catholic in
1657. George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, died in 1677.
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