The king and his parliament had reached one impasse after another. The king introduced a Royal Court system which operated by Roman law as opposed to Common law which meant cases could only be tried by judges appointed by the king. It was a move to monopolize the legal system which infuriated the parliament. 

Attempting to curb the king’s power the parliament attempted to impede his efforts at broadening his power base. They did this by forcing the king’s first minister, Francis Bacon to resign. In retaliation, the king ordered the execution of certain members of Parliament. The nasty breach between the king and the parliament continued to widen prompting speculation of civil war. The king died before he could see the results of his rash actions.