“ GAUDEN, JOHN (1605–1662) , English bishop and writer, reputed author of the Eikon Basilike, was born in 1605 at Mayland, Essex, where his father was vicar of the parish. Educated at Bury St Edmunds school and at St John’s College, Cambridge, he took his M.A. degree in 1625/6. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Russell of Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, and was tutor at Oxford to two of his wife’s brothers. ”

“ He was chaplain to Robert Rich, second earl of Warwick, and preached before the House of Commons in 1640. In 1641 he was appointed to the rural deanery of Bocking. Apparently his views changed as the revolutionary tendency of the Presbyterian party became more pronounced, for in 1648/9 he addressed to Lord Fairfax A Religious and Loyal Protestation . ”

“ This theory would reconcile the conflicting evidence, that of those who saw Charles writing parts and read the MS. before publication, and the deliberate statements of Gauden.
See also the article by Richard Hooper in the Dict. Nat. Biog.; Christopher Wordsworth, Who wrote Eikon Basilike? two letters addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury (1824) , and King Charles the First, the Author of Icon Basilikè (1828) ; H. J. Todd, A Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning Eikon Basilike (1825) ; Bishop Gauden, The Author of the Icôn Basilikè (1829) ”