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The London of the early Stuarts was truly an imperial center. Henry VIII may have made Ireland a kingdom, but James and his son, Charles I, governed over England, Ireland, and Scotland and, thus, over the budding British Empire. The imperial crown demanded religious and cultural uniformity of the entire population, not simply the loyalty of elites. Consequently, it had to defend the legitimacy of its claim to Ireland on ideological as well as political grounds. The Stuarts did, however, enjoy significant support among Irish nobles, some of whom made London their home. Ireland and the Irish would continue to influence the capital into the modern era.
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