Today (27/03/2025) marks 400 years since King Charles I’s accession to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Best remembered for his involvement in the English Civil War and his subsequent execution in 1649, Charles was not born to be king. The youngest of King James VI and I’s and Anne of Denmark’s three surviving children, Charles was born in 1600. He was a sickly child, known by his family as “Baby Charles”, with a small stature and slight stammer that remained his entire life.[1] After his older brother Henry died in 1612 at the age of 18, Charles became the royal heir.[2]
When he took the throne 400 years ago today, Charles inherited a tumultuous political landscape. Religious and social contention had been growing in the kingdom since the Tudor period, while new ideas of the rights of Parliament worked in direct opposition to Charles’ strongly held belief in the Divine Right of Kings. This belief, which Charles inherited from his father, dictated that a king’s authority was granted by God, and therefore a king was not accountable to earthly powers such as Parliament.[3]
Historians differ on their opinions as to what exactly caused the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642. Political disputes between Parliament and Charles occurred throughout his reign, undoubtedly playing a significant role. There were also fears surrounding the Protestant king’s religious outlook, caused in no small part by his marriage to the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria of France. Unpopular, costly, and unsuccessful wars with Spain and France likewise caused further discontent amongst his subjects.[4] The many failures of Charles’ reign were laid out by Parliament in the Grand Remonstrance on 22 November 1641, six months before the war began.[5]
The first English Civil War was fought from 1642 to 1646, ending when Charles handed himself over to the Scottish army. This was a tactical surrender—Charles believed that he could play the factions amongst his opposition against each other while imprisoned.[6] Although he did succeed in forming a peace treaty with the Scots during his imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle, further fighting in 1648 left the so-called Rump Parliament in power.[7] This was made up of strictly hard-line anti-monarchists, including Oliver Cromwell, who put the king on trial for his actions.[8]
Charles was found guilty of high treason and was beheaded outside the banqueting hall of Whitehall on 30 January 1649. Today, this fate is what Charles is best remembered for, and as the only monarch in British history to meet this end, it is perhaps unsurprising that this has become his lasting legacy. This was not the end of the British monarchy, though, as only eleven years later Charles’ son returned from exile to be crowned King Charles II. Since then, the United Kingdom has maintained its monarchy through to our current head of state, King Charles III.
[1] “The Execution of Charles I”, Historic Royal Palaces, available at https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/#gs.l2xntz; Maurice Ashley, “Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland”, Britannica, 6 December 2024, available at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-I-king-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland.
[2] Ashley, “Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland”, available at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-I-king-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland.
[3] “The Execution of Charles I”, Historic Royal Palaces, available at https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/#gs.jw2u05.
[4] Paul Pattison, “The English Civil Wars: Origins, Events and Legacy”, English Heritage, available at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/the-english-civil-wars-history-and-stories/the-english-civil-wars/#:~:text=The%20English%20Civil%20Wars%20were,politics%2C%20religion%20and%20economic%20policy.
[5] Ashley, “Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland”, available at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-I-king-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland.
[6] “Charles I (r. 1625–1649)”, The Royal Family, available at https://www.royal.uk/charles-i.
[7] Pattison, “The English Civil Wars”, available at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/the-english-civil-wars-history-and-stories/the-english-civil-wars/#:~:text=The%20English%20Civil%20Wars%20were,politics%2C%20religion%20and%20economic%20policy.
[8] Ibid.