Charles I

Marked man: Charles I shown in a detail in Anthony van Dyck's famous portrait. In his final days, the king's attempts to play his enemies against one another backfired spectacularly. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

Why Charles I had to die

Charles I's great weakness was that he made a strict distinction between his role as king, in which he could not compromise, and his personal role, which was entirely pleasant and courteous, says Sean Lang. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

8 of the nicest kings in history

In 1992, Betty Boothroyd was voted in as Speaker of the House of Commons, with cross-party support by 372 votes to 238, asking the House “to elect me for what I am, not for what I was born”. (Photo by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)

A brief history of the Speakers of the House of Commons

A painting depicting Oliver Cromwell gazing at the body of Charles I

Killers of the king: the men who dared to execute Charles I

A 1646 engraving of John Lilburne behind bars. The outspoken critic of successive governments spent half his life imprisoned or in exile. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

John Lilburne: the rebel they couldn’t gag

A portrait of Charles I.

The Library Has history been unfair to Charles I?

Catholics massacre Protestants in Ulster in a contemporary illustration. However, Catholics were also the victims of mass killings in 1641. (© Getty)

10 great misconceptions of the Civil War

Painting depicting Cromwell at the head of his troops following the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, by Ernest Crofts. (Photo by De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images)

Oliver Cromwell: the secret of his military genius

The battle of Marston Moor, the largest clash of the Civil War, depicted in a 19th-century painting. Preventing a slide into chaos required "diplomatic panache, not Charles's fabled stubbornness", writes Jonathan Healey. (Photo by A 16th-century portrait of Bess of Hardwick. Bess's talent, ambition and eye for a well-connected husband elevated her to dizzying levels of wealth and power in Tudor England. (Photo by Bridgeman Art Library)

The Library What sparked the Civil War?

A portrait of actress Nell Gwynn, longtime mistress to King Charles II.

From Nell to Meghan: 10 romances between actors and royals

Henrietta Maria

The Library Henrietta Maria: Charles I’s warrior queen

A painting of Charles I on horseback.

The art of a king

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BREAKING: Charles I was never beheaded, reveals newly-discovered manuscript

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Black British history and Charles I’s children