Accession of Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

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Charles I of England, English Civil War, Henri IV of France, Henrietta-Maria of France, Henry Frederick Prince of Wales, James VI-I of Scotland and England, Marie de' Medici, Monarchy, Parliament

Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution in 1649.

Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603 (as James I), he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. He became heir apparent to the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1612 on the death of his elder brother Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. An unsuccessful and unpopular attempt to marry him to the Spanish Habsburg princess Maria Anna culminated in an eight-month visit to Spain in 1623 that demonstrated the futility of the marriage negotiations. Two years later he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France, the youngest daughter of Henri IV of France (Henri III of Navarre) and his second wife, Marie de’ Medici, and named after her parents.

Henrietta Maria of France

After his succession on March 27, 1625, Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. Charles believed in the divine right of kings, and was determined to govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent, and perceived his actions as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch. His religious policies, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, generated the antipathy and mistrust of Reformed groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters, who thought his views were too Catholic. He supported high church Anglican ecclesiastics, such as Richard Montagu and William Laud, and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years’ War. His attempts to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices led to the Bishops’ Wars, strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments, and helped precipitate his own downfall.

From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War. After his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament. Charles refused to accept his captors’ demands for a constitutional monarchy, and temporarily escaped captivity in November 1647. Re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight, Charles forged an alliance with Scotland, but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army had consolidated its control over England. Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for high treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and the Commonwealth of England was established as a republic. The monarchy would be restored to Charles’s son, Charles II, in 1660.

Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1630-1685)

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at Boscobel House, Charles II of England and Scotland, English Civil War, Henri IV of France, Henrietta-Maria of France, Pride's Purge, Royal Oak

King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Charles II is probably one of the kings I most admire. I find his life fascinating and I also think he lived at an interesting point in history. Yesterday I featured Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, a man who did not become King and Charles II almost did not become king himself. His life is a story of struggle and triumph, of loss and pain as well as well as success. There is a lot in his life I can relate to and admire. His life demonstrates the difficulties of the human condition as well as the spirit within us all, that keeps us moving forward in the face of adversities.

Charles was born on May 29, 1630 to King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and his wife Princess Henrietta-Maria de Bourbon of France, the daughter of King Henri IV of France and Navarre. King Henri’s wife was the Italian princess, Marie de’ Medici, which brought Italian blood into the English royal family. Charles inherited a darker complexion due to his Italian ancestry and his darker complexion gave his mother much shame and many whispers at court. This is one area I can relate to. Although it wasn’t my skin color that brought me struggles, I am a pale Irishman, but I had a physical condition (Pectus excavatum) which brought me shame and a lot of whispers from people. 

Charles’ up bringing was typical for the time, educated at home by tutors and also cared for by nurses and servants. In 1640 Charles was designated Prince of Wales, though he was never formally invested with the Honours of the Principality of Wales. Everything seemed secure and the future assured and that one day young Charles would come into his inheritance and take up the mantel as King of England, Scotland and Ireland. However, as life often does, things changed and for a long while some of these changes seemed permanent. Within two years of being destined Prince of Wales, Civil War broke out and his father took charge of the Cavaliers who were fighting against the Parliamentarians. Fearing for his safety Charles sought refuge in Sicily. His first of many trips into exile.

As the years rolled on and war continued in England Charles finally made it to France where he was reunited with his mother who had also fled England. Both mother and son stayed at the court of Louis XIV who was Charles’ first cousin. Charles and his mother were separated during these early teen years and I often speculate if his insatiable desire for women stems from these stressful times separated from his mother? It was while in France Charles began one of his many love affairs. This first one was with Lucy Walter. She would falsely claim years later that they had secretly married and that their son, James Crofts, Duke of Monmouth, was the rightful heir to the throne.

Shortly before the birth of their son, Charles experienced one of his great losses. The Civil War in England had come to an end. Although at one point there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel and that King and Parliament were to reconciled, this hope was short lived as Pride’s Purge got rid of all those in government that supported the king. Those who were left placed the king on trial. He was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on January 29, 1649. At the time Charles was only 19…too young to lose a parent. I can relate to that, I was 17 when I lost my father suddenly.

Charles, technically now Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, was a man on the run. He spent the next years in exile. At one point he was crowned King of Scots in 1651 but was soon exiled from that country as Cromwell’s forces chased him from the country. He was defeated at the Battle of Battle of Worcester on September 3,1651. He spent one night in a tree, a Royal Oak, at Boscobel House. He wore disguises and was only one step ahead of his captors. With a large bounty on his head he finally escaped England and returned to the European continent. I know life can be stressful and difficult at times but I Cannot contemplate the stress one would be under being forcefully chased from ones country under the threat of death. 

He stayed in France until 1654 when Louis XIV, because of his own ambitions, sought an alliance with Cromwell’s government. This forced Charles to seek refuge in Spain. There were times when money was in short supply and the man who was King in name only lived in poverty at times. Things looked dark and bleak with no hope for the future until 1658 hope glimmered a little with the death of Oliver Cromwell, the military dictator who had ruled England.

This is where I will end the first half of our story. I can relate to the pain and loss and struggle he lived with, however, I do not know what it is like to live with a bounty on ones head. This would have left me a bit paranoid. I think what it did for Charles was gave him issues of trust. It was hard to know who was there to help you and serve you, who was there looking for a favor (even though he had none to give) or who was there to kill you.

Copyright ⌐2012 WJFoley