House of Commons of England House of Stuart came to the English throne in 1603. The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I, provoked conflicts with the Commons over issues such as taxation, religion, and royal powers. The differences between Charles I and Parliament were great, and resulted in the English Civil War, in which the armed forces of Parliament were victorious. In December 1648 the House of Commons was purged by the New Model Army, which was supposed to be subservient to Parliament. Pride's Purge was the only military coup in English history. Subsequently, King Charles I was beheaded and the Upper
House of Commons of the United Kingdom prime minister, and was immediately elected to the House of Commons as Sir Alec Douglas-Home, having been for twenty days a member of neither House. In recent decades, the vast majority of ministers have belonged to the Commons rather than the Lords. Few major cabinet positions (except Lord Privy Seal, Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) have been filled by a peer in recent times. Notable exceptions are Peter Carington, 6th Lord Carrington, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, and David Young, Lord Young of Graffham, who was appointed Employment Secretary in 1985. Peter