Charles I

Charles was born on the 19th November 1600, the second son of King James I. He was a sickly child, but it didn’t really matter as his elder brother Henry was the perfect king-in-waiting. But when Henry died in Charles’s youth, Charles was forced to grow up fast.

Charles I ascends the throne

He ascended the throne aged twenty-five, and was crowned King at Westminster Abbey on the 2nd February 1626.

Unfortunately for him, he inherited a financial mess made largely by his father. He also undertook a series of disastrous wars on the advice of his confident, the Duke of Buckingham. His quick solution was to ask Parliament for more funds, but Parliament was unwilling to listen unless he also addressed their grievances.

Two times Charles asked them to raise taxes, but each time they turned him down. And when Buckingham was assassinated in 1628, the King dismissed the third with a flourish. For the next eleven years Charles ruled the country without a Government, raising his own funds by selling off monopolies and instituting the highly unpopular ‘Ship tax’.

Charles’s marriage to the 15-year old daughter of King Henry VI of France also caused an uproar. She was a devout Catholic, and brought all her Catholic hands to court. They went on to produce four sons and five daughters – two named Charles (one of whom became King Charles II), James, Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, Catherine and Henrietta Anne.

Origins of the English Civil War

Things remained manageable whilst the money trickled in, but serious problems began in 1640 when Charles tried to force a new prayer book on the Scots. The Scots rebelled in force, and Charles was ill-prepared. He was in urgent need of an army, but the only way to get the extra funds was to recall Parliament.

Parliament, having been left in the doldrums for eleven years, was in no mood to comply. When Charles foolishly tried to arrest five of its members in the House, they themselves rebelled. Charles was now facing a war on two fronts – against the Scots and Parliament.

Oliver Cromwell

Charles kicked off the war at Nottingham Castle on the 22nd August 1642. The camps were named as follows: the Cavaliers supported the monarchy, and the Roundheads ran for Parliament. With more money and population available to fight, the Roundheads were always going to win, but the King kept up the battle for several years.

Parliament’s most famous commander was Oliver Cromwell, a man who rose up the ranks from the base. His ‘New Model Army’ was the most sophisticated in English military history, and routed the Royals at Naseby.

In January 1647 Charles surrendered to the Scots, and by April he was back in the hands of Parliament.

Execution of King Charles I

Charles was briefly held in Hampton Court Palace, where he escaped to the Isle of Wight. He then made plans for a second war, which was eventually put down by Cromwell at the battle of Preston in 1648.

Parliament was incensed that Charles had the gall to start up yet another war, and put him on trial for treason. The trial started on the 22nd January 1649, but he refused to recognise the court’s authority. He was sentenced to death on the 27th.

On the 30th January he was executed on a scaffold outside Banqueting House.

• Historical pictures

Historical pictures

^{Charles I, as he looked in 1631Charles I by Van Dyck, 1636King Charles I’s execution}

King Charles I – Related articles…

Oliver Cromwell
After leading the army to victory in the English Civil War, Cromwell ran the country as Lord Protector.