Throughout his political career, Williams was identified as a strong supporter of King James, who, it has been said, valued him as a man "who knew his mind and would do his bidding"[3] and with whom personally he had much in common.

When James I died and was succeeded by Charles I in 1625, Williams was quickly removed from the office of Lord Chancellor, and was prevented from attending Parliament.

[9] He was re-imprisoned by Parliament in 1641, but was released on bail in 1642 and went to be with the King in Yorkshire, as well as be enthroned as Archbishop of York, a position to which he had been appointed the previous year.

His stay in Yorkshire was brief, however, and he spent the last years of his life in his native north Wales, initially supporting the royalist cause, but eventually coming to an accommodation with the local parliamentarian commander in 1646.

Details of Williams' Civil War activities in North Wales are contained in Norman Tucker's book Prelate at Arms (Llandudno, 1937).