For the Treaty, a room in Place House was equipped with a large square table, across which the negotiators, or commissioners', faced each other. The King's negotiators, or 'commissioners', sat along two sides, Parliament's on another. There were 16 Royalist commissioners, and 12 for Parliament. Scotland also sent commissioners, some of whom made up the Parliamentary numbers.
The majority of commissioners on each side were from the aristocracy or landed gentry. 10 of these were qualified lawyers. 2 were leading church figures. 2 had backgrounds in European diplomacy. Others were involved in colonial ventures. Several were patrons of the arts.
Some of the King's commissioners had been long-term favourites at the Royal Court. Others had started on the Parliamentary side, only to find themselves at odds with its more radical factions. Some had a history of fractious relationships with the King and his family which continued long after the Treaty.
James Stewart 1st Duke of Richmond 1612 to 1655
Third cousin of Charles I
Gave large sums of money to the war effort
Defended Oxford for the King
Edward Hyde 1st Earl of Clarendon 1609 to 1674
Interested in literature and philosophy
Looked after the royal princes at the Battle of Edgehill
Described Cromwell as a 'brave bad man'
William Seymour 1st Marquis of Hertford 1588 to 1660
Imprisoned in 1610 for marrying without the King's consent
Lieutenant-General of Royalist forces in South-West England and Wales
Was a pall-bearer at Charles I's funeral
Francis Seymour 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge 1590 to 1664
Had estates in Wiltshire
Helped organise Royalist forces in the south-west
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1645
Christopher Hatton 1st Baron Hatton 1605 to 1670
A prominent member of Charles I's household
Collector of antiques and historical records
Founding member of the Royal Society
John Colepeper 1st Baron Colepeper c1600 to 1660
Family had served in government since the 14th century
Took part in the cavalry charge at Edgehill
Was assaulted in the streets by another Royalist supporter after the 2nd Civil War
Sir Edward Nicholas 1593 to 1669
Secretary of State
Helped arrange the King's surrender to the Scots
Called for the readmission of Jews into England for the first time since 1290
Francis Leigh 1st Earl of Chichester 1598 to 1653
Originally a supporter of Parliament
Colonel of the Royalist Cavalry
Helped govern Oxford late in 1645
Sir Richard Lane 1584 to 1650
Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Keeper of the King's Great Seal
Negotiated the terms of the King's surrender in 1646
Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 1607 to 1667
Originally a supporter of Parliament
Paid fines of over £6,000 at the end of the wars (over £700,000 in today's money)
Admired for his integrity by diarist Samuel Pepys
Sir Orlando Bridgeman 1st Baronet of Great Lever 1606 to 1674
Solicitor-General to Charles, Prince of Wales
Member of the New England (trading) Company
One of the judges appointed to settle land disputes after the Great Fire of London in 1666
Sir Thomas Gardiner 1591 to 1652
Lawyer and politician
Solicitor-General to the King in Oxford
His daughter was Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I
Henry Pierrepoint 2nd Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull 1606 to 1680
Father killed in friendly fire
Attended the King at Oxford
Had a violent temper, assaulting a man in Westminster Abbey
Dr Richard Steward [1593] to 1651
Provost of Eton College and Dean of the Chapel Royal
Clerk of the Closet to Charles I
Died and buried in France
John Ashburnham 1603 to 1671
Referred to by the King as 'Jack'
Treasurer and paymaster to the King's army
Started a tapestry-making business during the Restoration
Arthur Capel 1st Baron Capel of Hadham 1604 to 1649
Owned land in ten counties
Served in the King's Lifeguard at Edgehill
Imprisoned as a Royalist conspirator in 1648, escaped, was betrayed then beheaded
