At the time he met Villiers the King was romantically involved with Robert Carr. He became the King favourite when he was 20 years-old and the following year became a groom of the bedchamber. The king, it was reported, would "pinch Carr's cheek in public, smooth his clothes, and gaze at him adoringly, even while talking to others". Over the next eight years Carr steadily accumulated the material rewards of royal infatuation and was given large estates all over England. (8) the handsomest-bodied in England; his limbs so well compacted and his conversation so pleasing and of so sweet a disposition.’ Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, The Hertfordshire Yeomanry: An Illustrated History 1794–1920, Welwyn: Hart Books/Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Historical Trust, 1994, ISBN 0-948527-03-X, p. 25.

Today, many historians and commentators affirm that – given the evidence – James's relationships with his favourites clearly were sexual. Others regard the evidence as more ambiguous, and needing to be understood in terms of 17th-century forms of masculinity which were very different to today's.Bellany, Alastair (2004), "Felton, John (died 1628), assassin", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.), Oxford University Press, doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/9273 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Felton, John (1595?–1628)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Matthieu Dupas, "La sodomie dans l’affaire Théophile de Viau", Les Dossiers du Grihl, January 2010, Paragraphs 57–58

Infinite sums of Money, and Mass of Land … have been heaped upon him, and how have they been employed? Upon costly Furniture, sumptuous Feasting, and magnificent Building. Crawfurd 1716, p. 92. "He was educated at the Court, and being of an agreeable and winning Deportment, he soon grew into his Majesty's special favour, attaining first the honour of knighthood, and e're long was made one of the Grooms of the Bed Chamber." sfn error: no target: CITEREFCrawfurd1716 ( help) In fact, the Spanish ambassador asked Parliament to execute him for his behaviour in Madrid, but Villiers gained popularity and support by calling for war with Spain on his return to London. Henry Montagu Villiers († 1861), Bishop of Carlisle in 1856 and Bishop of Durham from 1860 to 1861. He was a son of George Villiers († 1827).Other notable members [ edit ] Theresa Villiers (born 1968) was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2012 until 2016 However, his disgrace was not over. After his resignation, Villiers had been replaced by Lord Mulgrave's brother, Edmund Phipps, [18] as paymaster and lost his prospective place as a commissioner of woods and forests. Then, he was informed on 4 May 1810, after the release of the finance committee's report, that the king had removed from him the supervision of the farms at Windsor (he also lost the rangership). The news threw him into a state of great mental distress; he wrote to the king begging him to suspend judgement on the points raised by the committee's report. The king replied that it was "indispensable" to remove Villiers from his office under the circumstances, but extended his sympathy and suspended judgement on him. [16]