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Removal of Shaftesbury as Lord Chancellor

When
1672–1673
Where
England; Exeter House
Episodes
2

In November 1673, King Charles II removed Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, from the office of Lord Chancellor. The dismissal was communicated at Exeter House alongside a royal pardon for prior offenses.

Episodes

  1. 17 November 1672 · EnglandAppointment as Lord Chancellor

    Ashley-Cooper was named Lord Chancellor of England in November 1672, replacing his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  2. 9 November 1673 · Exeter HouseRemoval from Office

    Ashley-Cooper was relieved of his post as Lord Chancellor on 9 November 1673, receiving a royal pardon for prior offenses.

Background and detail

Political Context. In 1673, it became widely known that the Duke of York had converted to Catholicism. Ashley-Cooper’s concern over the heir’s religion was heightened when the Duke failed to take the Anglican sacrament at Easter. He also supported a bill for Protestant dissenters, though it did not pass.

The Dismissal. On 9 November 1673, Henry Coventry delivered the news of Ashley-Cooper’s removal from the Lord Chancellorship at Exeter House. The King simultaneously issued a royal pardon covering all crimes committed before 5 November 1673.

People involved

Sources

  1. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.