The second son of James I, Charles succeeded his father as King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1625.
Charles I married Henrietta Maria of France.
His adherence to the doctrine of the
Divine Right of Kings brought Charles I into
conflict with parliament which attacked his favourite,
Buckingham, and forced him to sign the Petition of Right before granting him supplies.
He dissolved parliament in 1629 and asserted
absolute rule until 1640.
His attempts to raise funds by means of ship-money in October 1634, not only in the maritime counties where it had previously been levied, but throughout the realm and his intolerance towards the Calvinists (instigated by Archbishop Laud) intensified hostility to the King in Scotland as well as in England.
Charles summoned the Short Parliament in April 1640 but dissolved it after only three weeks.
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The "Short Parliament" is so-called because it only sat for three weeks. After attempting to rule without parliament for eleven years, Charles I was forced to summon the Short Parliament in April 13th, 1640 to obtain money to finance his military struggle with Scotland in the Bishops' Wars.
The new parliament, like its predecessors, was more interested in redressing the perceived grievances occassioned by the royal administration than in the king's agenda and his cesation of attempts to levy Ship Money did not impress the Members. The frustrated monarch dissolved again on May 5th, 1540.
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He convened the Long Parliament on
November 3rd, 1640, which forced him to
consent to various reforms and to execute his favourite and adviser,
Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, by Bill of Attainder in
1641.
Parliament sought control of the government by the Grand Remonstarnce and,
following his invasion of the Commons in 1642, Charles raised his standard at Nottingham.
The Royalists held their own in the Civil War until 1644 when Oliver
Cromwell's parliamentary army, aided by the Scots, defeated the Royalists at Marston Moor, and again at Naseby in 1645.
The Scots handed Charles I over to Parliament in 1647 and he was tried and executed asa traitor in Whitehall in 1649.
Many of the parliamentary leaders believed that the king had to die but were reluctant for varous reasons to have the deed done in the shadows so the show trial of the king for treason against the state commenced on January 19th, 1649.
Many, while opposed to the king and reconciled in conscience to the war, refused to have any part in the trial - while monarchs had been deposed in the past, they shied away from from trying Charles Stuart as the Monarch. The belief in a heirachical order to the universe with authority descending from God through the classes of man made many fearfull of taking part in the actual bodily execution of the king.
The king himself, still firm in his conviction of the Divine Right of Kings, refused
to acknowledge the authority of the court over him;
I demand to know by what authority, I mean lawful authority I am called here. Remember, I am your King, your lawful King. And what sins you bring upon your heads, and the judgement of God upon this land, think well upon it, before you go from one sin to a greater one. I have a trust committed to me by God, by lawful inheritance. I will not betray it to answer to a new and unlawful authority.
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Charles was thus tried by a parliament of only one hundred and thiry-five members. Yet, when the trial was concluded on January 27th, 1649, and the monarch convicted of treason against the state, it was only by the narrowest possible of majorities - sixty eight to sixty seven.
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Some sources claim that Oliver Cromwell chose to vote last and cast the deciding vote himself. Although a formidable general during the Civil War, he is known for his indecisiveness in the period which followed and, perhaps, asked himself the question he later set the Presbyterian General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1650; "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken."
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The king was beaheaded outside the Banqueting House, Whitehall, by the hangman Richard Brandon on January 30th, 1649.
In an unusual move, Cromwell allowed his head to be stitched back on to his body for the sake of his family .
| 1600.Nov.19 | | Birth of the future Charles I of England, the second son of James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) and Anne of Denmark at Dunfermline Palace | | BAAAGCLJ BAAAGEKC | | 1605 | | Future Charles I of England created Duke of York | | BAAAGCKL | | 1625.Mar.27 | | Death of James I (James VI of Scotland)
Charles I succeeds his father as king of England, Wales and Scotland | | BAAAGCLJ BAAAGEKC | | 1625.Mar.27+ | | Parliament gave Charles I tonnage and poundage but only for one year | | BAAAGBXJ | | 1625.Jun.13 | | !!! or 1628 !!! Marriage of Charles I to Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, daughter of King Henry IV of France at Canterbury | | BAAAGDFK | | 1626.Feb.02 | | Charles I crowned King of England | | | | 1628 | | Murder of the Duke of Buckingham | | BAAAGEGA | | 1628.Jun.13 | | !!! or 1625 !!! Marriage of Charles I to Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, daughter of King Henry IV of France at Canterbury | | | | 1629.Mar.10 | | Charles I dissolves parliament, asserting
absolute rule until 1640 | | BAAAGBXJ | | 1629.Aug.26 | | Cambridge Agreement; Massachusetts Bay Company stockholders agreed to emigrate to New England | | | | 1630 | | William Harvey becomes Royal Physician to Charles I | | BAAAGCHC | | 1630.May.29 | | Birth of the future Charles II to Charles I | | BAAAGCLL | | 1631.Nov.04 | | Birth of Princess Henrietta Mary to Henrietta Maria and Charles I | | BAAAGDFK | | 1633 | | First visit of Charles I to Scotland | | BAAAGEKC | | 1633 | | Sinking of The Blessing, a ferry carrying gold and silver of Charles I and 30 passengers, in the Firth of Forth | | | | 1633.Oct.14 | | Birth of James Stuart, (James II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1685-88)), the third son of King Charles I | | BAAAGBIL BAAAGBKD BAAAGEKC | | 1634.Oct | | Charles I levies ship money without the consent of parliament, ostensibly for the provision and equipping of ships for the defence of the coast and maintaining command of the sea, but in fact, merey a means of raising crown revenues | | BAAAGCPQ BAAAGBXJ | | 1635 | | Completion of Queens House, Greenwich completed by Inigo Jones (1573- c1652) | | | | 1635 | | !!! First settlement of Connecticut
| | | | 1636 | | Hackney carriages introduced in London | | BAAAGBWQ BAAAGDKN | | 1637 | | Introduction of the Book of Common Prayer (? Scotland) | | BAAAGCKL BAAAGEKC | | 1637.Jul.23 | | King Charles I hands over the American colony of Massachusetts to Sir Fernando Gorges, one of the founders of the Council of New England | | | | 1638 | | Code and Prayer Book suspended (? Scotland) | | BAAAGEKC | | 1640 | | Battle of Newcastle - Second Bishops\' War
| | | | 1640.Apr.13 | | Charles I summons the Short Parliament (-May 5th) | | | | 1640.May.05 | | Charles I dissolves the Short Parliament (April 13th-) | | BAAAGBXJ | | 1640.Nov.03 | | The Long Parliament called by king Charles I
The parliament sat through the Civil War (1640-1645), the execution of Charles I and the Interregnum or Commonwealth which followed to be dissolved on March 14th, 1660 | | BAAAGBXJ BAAAGCAP BAAAGEKB BAAAGEFZ | | 1641 | | Abolition of the Star Chamber
Removal of censorship by the Star Chamber led to the publication of many pamphlets on the great questions of the day | | | | 1641 | | Charles I forced by the Long Parliament to execute his favourite and adviser, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, by Bill of Attainder | | BAAAGBXJ | | 1641 | | Triennial Act passed by the Long Parliament requiring Parliament meet for at least a 55-day session once every 3 years (to prevent the King ruling without Parliament)
The Act was repealed in 1664 | | BAAAGCXJ BAAAGBXJ | | 1642.Jan.04 | | Charles I unsuccessfully attempts to arrest 5 members of parliament
They were spirited away before the royal troops arrived | | BAAAGBXJ BAAAGCAP | | 1642.Aug.22 | | Charles I raises the royal standard in Nottingham: the king was refused entry to the House of Commons to arrest some of its members (from this point on no monarch was allowed entry)
An anachronistic medieval gesture, the raising of the royal standard signals the start of the Civil War | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGBXL | | 1642.Oct.23 | | Battle of Edgehill: Oliver Cromwell faught in the battle | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEFP BAAAGEFQ BAAAGEFZ | | 1642.Oct.29 | | Charles I and the Royalist army enter Oxford | | 00000000 BAAAGCAP | | 1642.Nov.11 | | Charles I and the Royalist army move eastwards to Colnbrook | | BAAAGCAP | | 1642.Nov.13 | | Battle of Turnham Green, west of London. Royalist army under the King, Parliamentarians under Robert Devereux
Outnumbered by the 24,000 Pariamentarians, no battle was fought as the Royalists went south to Kingston and on to Reading in Berkshire | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEFP BAAAGEFQ | | 1643 | | The Long Parliament enforced censorship on printers and publishers | | BAAAGBXJ BAAAGCAP | | 1644.Jan | | Scotland joins Charles II in war against the English Parliament | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEKC | | 1644.Jun.16 | | Birth of Princess Henrietta Anne to Henrietta Maria and Charles I at Exeter | | BAAAGDZD BAAAGDFK | | 1644.Jul.02 | | Battle of Marston Moor, near York: the Royalists are routed by Cromwell | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEFP BAAAGEFQ BAAAGEFZ | | 1644.Aug | | Royalists defeat Essex at Lostwithiel (after laying seige to the Cornish town throughout August) and push Essex to the old earthworks at Castle Dor
Charles I stayed at the nearby Boconnoc estate during the seige | | BAAAGCEK BAAAGDZW BAAAGCAP | | 1644.Aug.12 | | Charles I takes Respryn Bridge cutting Essex (sheltered in the Fowey valley hoping for naval support) off from the north | | BAAAGCAP | | 1646.May.05 | | Charles I surrenders to the Scots in Scotland | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEKC | | 1647.Jan | | Scots surrender King Charles to Parliament in exchange for �400,000 | | BAAAGCAP BAAGCLK BAAAGEKC | | 1647.Jun.04 | | English army seize Charles I as a hostage | | | | 1648.Jan | | Parliament renounces its allegiance to King Charles I | | BAAAGCAP | | 1648.Mar.02 | | Civil War breaks out in support of the king | | BAAAGEFZ BAAAGCAP | | 1648.Jul | | The Scots under Hamilton, loyal again to Charles I, invade northern England | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEKC BAAAGEFZ | | 1648.Aug.19 | | Battle of Preston (Aug 17-19): Oliver Cromwell defeats the Scotts invaders loyal to Charles I | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEFP BAAAGEFQ BAAAGEFZ | | 1648.Nov.20 | | Remonstrance of the troops, supported by Cromwell, includes demand for the kings punishment and justifies the use of force by the army if other means fail | | BAAAGEFZ | | 1648.Dec.01 | | Charles I removed to Hurst Castle by the army | | BAAAGEFZ | | 1649.Jan.19 | | Start of the trial of Charles I by parliament | | BAAAGBXJ | | 1649.Jan.30 | | Execution of Charles I for treason outside the Banqueting House, Whitehall - beheaded by the hangman Richard Brandon
Cromwell allowed the head to be sown back onto the body for the sake of the royal family | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGBXJ BAAAGBZE BAAAGCQH | | 1650 | | !!!!! Future Charles II of England crowned as King of Scotland | | BAAAGCLL BAAAGEKC | | 1651.Jan.01 | | !!!!! Future Charles II of England crowned king of Scotland in Scone | | BAAAGCLL BAAAGEKC | | 1660.Apr.16 | | Dissolution of the Long Parliament summoned by Charles I in 1640
The parliament, called by Charles I in 1640, had sat through the Civil War (1640-1645), the execution of the king and the Interregnum or Commonwealth which followed | | BAAAGCAP BAAAGEKB | | 1660.May | | Restoration of the monarchy (Charles II) in England | | BAAAGCLL 00000000 BAAAGEFZ | | 1661.Jan.30 | | 22nd anniversary of the execution of Charles I: the body of Oliver Cromwell exhumed from Westminster Abbey, hung, drawn, quartered and disposed of in a pit. His head displayed on a pole on Westminster Hall (-1685) | | BAAAGEFZ BAAAGEFJ BAAAGEFR BAAAGDKN BAAAGCLL | | 1944.Jul.26 | | !!!!!! Charles I, pursuing Essex westwards, reaches Exeter | | BAAAGDZD |
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HOUSE OF STUART:
James I
Charles I
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Henrietta Maria
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