by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

On January 30, 1649, Charles I, King of England was beheaded for treason and other high crimes at the Palace of Whitehall in London, England where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

Charles I, King of England

Born at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland on November 19, 1600, Charles I, King of England was the second son and fourth of the seven children of James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. At the time of Charles’ birth, his six-year-old elder brother Henry Frederick was the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland. On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and Charles’ father became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII of England had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII of England through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor who had married James IV, King of Scots.

Charles overcame early physical problems, although he grew no taller than five feet four inches, and learned to ride, shoot, and fence. However, he was no physical match for his stronger and taller elder brother Henry, whom he adored. When 18-year-old Henry died in 1612 from typhoid, it was a loss that Charles felt greatly. Charles automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay upon his brother’s death and was created Prince of Wales in 1616.

On March 27, 1625, King James I died and Charles succeeded him as King of England and King of Scots. Charles married Henrietta Maria of France, daughter of Henri IV, King of France, several months later. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children including King Charles II, King James II, and Mary, the first Princess Royal, who married Willem II, Prince of Orange and had one child: Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England.

The Road to the English Civil War and Charles I’s Downfall

Charles had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. In the early years of Charles’ reign, Parliament was summoned and dissolved three times. Finally, in 1629, Charles, who believed in the divine right of kings, decided to govern without Parliament, beginning eleven years of personal rule. During his personal rule, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford were Charles’ most influential advisers. Parliament was finally summoned again in 1640 and demanded the execution of Stafford. Charles signed the death warrant, but never forgave himself. After this incident, the reconciliation of the King and Parliament became impossible.

On January 4, 1642, a point of no return was reached. On that day, Charles committed the unprecedented act of entering the House of Commons with an armed guard and demanding the arrest of five Members of Parliament. There was a great public outcry, Charles fled London and civil war appeared inevitable. Since that day no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting and a tradition recalling this is enacted at every State Opening of Parliament. When the monarch arrives in the House of Lords to read the speech from the throne, the Lord Great Chamberlain raises the wand of office to signal to the Gentleman/Lady Usher of the Black Rod (known as Black Rod), whose duty is to summon the House of Commons. On Black Rod’s approach, the doors to the House of Commons are slammed shut in Black Rod’s face, symbolizing the rights of the House of Commons and its independence from the monarch. Black Rod then strikes the closed doors of the House of Commons with the end of the ceremonial staff (the Black Rod) three times and is then admitted. This is a show of the refusal by the House of Commons never again to be entered by force by the monarch or one of the monarch’s representatives when the House of Commons is sitting.

English Civil War

On August 22, 1642, at Nottingham, Charles raised the Royal Standard and called for his loyal subjects to support him, beginning the Civil War between the Royalists or Cavaliers (Charles’ supporters) and the Roundheads (Parliament’s supporters). The Battle of Edgehill, the first real battle, was fought on October 26, 1642, and proved indecisive. The Cavaliers were defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, 1644, and at the Battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645. The balance was now permanently tipped to the parliamentary side. In April 1646, Charles left Oxford, which had served as his capital city during the conflict, and surrendered to the Scottish Army expecting to be safe and well-treated. However, the Scots delivered Charles to Parliament in 1647. Except for one brief period in 1647, when he escaped, Charles was confined in several castles and great homes for the rest of his life.

The Trial

On January 20, 1649, Charles’ trial at Westminster Hall in London, England began. He was accused of treason against England by using his power to pursue his personal interest rather than the good of England. A High Court of Justice was appointed to try Charles for high treason in the name of the people of England. There were 135 commissioners appointed but only 68 would sit in judgment.

As the trial opened, Solicitor General John Cook, standing immediately to Charles’ right, rose to read the indictment. Cook had just uttered only a few words when Charles tried to stop him by tapping him on the shoulder with his cane and ordering him to “Hold.” Cook ignored Charles and so he poked him again but Cook still continued. Angry at being ignored, Charles then hit Cook so forcefully across the shoulders that the silver tip of his cane broke off and fell to the floor between Cook and Charles. Charles waited for someone to pick up the silver tip. When no one did so, Charles had to bend down and pick it up himself. Perhaps Charles realized that this incident was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Charles refused to enter a plea saying that no court had jurisdiction over a monarch. He insisted that the trial was illegal and that his authority to rule came from the divine rights of kings given by God. The court challenged Charles, saying “the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise.”

On Saturday, January 27, 1649, Charles was declared guilty and sentenced to death. His sentence read: “That the court being satisfied that he, Charles Stuart, was guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did judge him tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.” To show their agreement with the sentence, all the commissioners who were present rose to their feet.

The Execution

On January 29, 1649, the day before his execution, Charles burned his personal papers. He was allowed to see 13-year-old Elizabeth and 8-year-old Henry, his only children still in England. He told Elizabeth to be faithful to the “true Protestant religion” and to tell her mother that “his thoughts had never strayed from her.” He warned Henry to “not be made a king” by the Parliamentarians because he suspected they would make the boy a puppet king. Charles divided his jewels among the two children, keeping only his George, an enameled figure of St. George, worn as a part of the ceremonial dress of the Order of the Garter. Charles had a restless last night, only going to sleep at 2:00 AM.

Charles awoke early on January 30, 1649, the day of his execution, and dressed all black and wore a blue sash. He requested one extra shirt from Thomas Herbert, his Gentleman of the Bedchamber so that the crowd gathered would not see him shiver from the cold and mistake it for fear. Charles walked the short distance from St. James’ Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold had been built outside the Banqueting House.

From the first floor of the Banqueting House, Charles stepped onto the scaffold from a window. Before his execution, Charles delivered a speech that can be read at this link: Execution Speech of Charles I.

In the speech, Charles declared his innocence and said he was a “martyr of the people”. The crowd could not hear the speech because of the many parliamentarian guards blocking the scaffold but Charles’ supporter on the scaffold, William Juxon, then Bishop of London, later Archbishop of Canterbury, recorded the speech in shorthand.

Charles then had a conversation with the executioner which was recorded by an eyewitness:

Charles: Is my hair well? (Charles had let his beard and hair grow long because Parliament had dismissed his barber and he refused to let anyone else near him with a razor. The executioner put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.)

Then Charles took off his cloak and his George, the enameled figure of St. George, which he gave to Bishop Juxon, saying: “Remember.”

Charles took off his doublet and put his cloak on again. Then looking upon the block, Charles said to the executioner: “You must set it fast.”

Executioner: It is fast, sir.

Charles: It might have been a little higher. (About the block)

Executioner: It can be no higher, sir.

Charles: When I put out my hands this way, then.

Charles then said a few words to himself with his hands lifted up and his eyes looking upward. He then immediately stooped down and laid his neck on the block. The executioner again put some of Charles’ hair under his cap.

Charles: Stay for the sign.

Executioner: Yes, I will, and it please Your Majesty.

After a short pause, Charles stretched out his hands, and the executioner, with one blow, severed his head from his body.

The Aftermath

Following the reattachment of the head and the embalming of the body, Charles I’s remains were placed in a simple wooden coffin which was then placed in a leaden coffin.  The coffin was taken to St. James’ Palace in London while Parliament decided where to inter Charles’ remains. No state funeral or public mourning would be allowed and Charles would not be permitted to be buried at Westminster Abbey.  Instead, Charles would be buried at the more private St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to avoid his burial site becoming a place of pilgrimage. A week after the execution Charles’ coffin was transported to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

On February 9, 1649, in a snowstorm, the body of Charles I was taken from Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel. The coffin was carried by James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond (Charles’s 3rd cousin), William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey), Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton and Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey. However, Bishop Juxon was barred by a Parliamentary officer from entering St. George’s Chapel as seen in the picture above. Charles I’s coffin was lowered into the vault in the choir aisle where King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour were buried.

England was a republic (Commonwealth of England) for eleven years until the monarchy was restored and Charles I’s eldest son Charles II became king in 1660.

Charles I’s eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) and his second son James, Duke of York (the future King James II) spent their exile in France, where their mother Henrietta Maria also lived in exile with their sister Henriette, and where their first cousin King Louis XIV was on the throne. Henriette married her first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans, King Louis XIV’s younger brother. Charles and James also lived some of the time with their sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands.

Charles I’s two children Elizabeth and Henry, whom he was able to see before his execution, both died young. Elizabeth was never reunited with her family after her father’s execution. She died in 1650, a year after her father’s execution, at the age of 14, from pneumonia at Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight, England. In 1660, soon after his eldest brother Charles II was restored to the throne, Henry died at age 20 from smallpox.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
• Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
• Emersonkent.com. (2020). Execution Speech – Charles I 1649. [online] Available at: http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/execution_speech_charles_i.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Charles I of England. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-i-of-england/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
• Fraser, Antonia. (2007). King Charles II. London: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd).
• Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On February 12, 1554, 16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey was executed for high treason by beheading at the Tower of London.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1536 or 1537, the eldest of the three daughters of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon. Lady Frances was the granddaughter of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, and the daughter of King Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Frances was the elder of her parents’ two surviving children. Two sons died in childhood, so the only surviving children were Frances and her younger sister Lady Eleanor Brandon who died in 1547.

Lady Jane was very well educated. She studied Greek and Hebrew with John Aylmer, later Bishop of England, and Italian and Latin with Michelangelo Florio, a former Franciscan friar who converted to Protestantism. In 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of King Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who married King Henry VIII’s sixth wife and widow, Catherine Parr. Jane lived with the couple until the death of Catherine in childbirth in September 1548 and acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral.

The current monarch, King Edward VI, the only son of King Henry VIII, was a minor and a council was to rule until he reached the age of 18. By 1550, John Dudley, Viscount Lisle headed the Privy Council as Lord Protector and was the de facto ruler of England. John Dudley was created Duke of Northumberland in 1551.

The powerful Duke of Northumberland thought marrying one of his sons to Lady Jane Grey would be a good idea. On May 25, 1553, three weddings were celebrated at Durham Place, the Duke of Northumberland’s London home. Lord Guildford Dudley, the fifth surviving son of the Duke of Northumberland married Lady Jane Grey, Guildford’s sister Lady Katherine Dudley married Henry Hastings, Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon’s heir and Jane’s sister Lady Catherine Grey married Henry Herbert, the heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

How did Lady Jane get to be Queen of England?

Embed from Getty Images 
‘Lady Jane Grey’s Reluctance to Accept the Crown’, (19th century). Artist: Herbert Bourne

In the early summer of 1553, fifteen-year-old Protestant King Edward VI, King Henry VIII‘s only son, lay dying, probably of tuberculosis. His eldest half-sister Mary (the future Queen Mary I), the Catholic daughter of King Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon, was the heir presumptive. The Third Succession Act of 1543 had restored Mary and Edward’s other half-sister Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I), daughter of King Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn, to the succession. In addition, the Third Succession Act stipulated that if the children of King Henry VIII did not have heirs, the heirs of his younger sister Mary Tudor should inherit the throne. The heirs of Henry’s elder sister Margaret Tudor who married James IV, King of Scots were excluded presumably to ensure the English throne was not inherited by a Scot. However, in 1603, upon the death of the unmarried and childless Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Tudor’s great-grandson James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne and reigned as King James I of England.

As King Edward VI lay dying in the early summer of 1553, the succession to the throne according to the Third Succession Act looked like this, and note that number four in the succession was the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law.

1) Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
2) Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
3) Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor
4) Lady Jane Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
5) Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
6) Lady Mary Grey, daughter of Lady Frances Brandon
7) Lady Margaret Clifford, daughter of Countess of Cumberland (born Lady Eleanor Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor)

King Edward VI’s death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would cause trouble for the English Reformation. Members of Edward’s council feared this, including the Duke of Northumberland. The exact role the Duke of Northumberland played in what followed is still debated, but surely he played a big part in the events. King Edward VI opposed Mary’s succession for religious reasons, because of her apparent illegitimacy, and his belief in male succession. Both Mary and Elizabeth were still considered to be legally illegitimate.

King Edward composed a document “My devise for the succession” in which he passed over his half-sisters and the Duchess of Suffolk (Frances Brandon) in favor of the Duchess of Suffolk’s daughters and their male heirs. The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were outraged at the Duchess’ removal from the succession, but after a meeting with the ailing king, the Duchess renounced her rights in favor of her daughter Jane. Many contemporary legal experts believed the king could not contravene an Act of Parliament without passing a new one that would have established the altered succession. Therefore, many thought that Jane’s claim to the throne was weak. Apparently, Jane did not have any idea of what was occurring.

After great suffering, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died on July 6, 1553, most likely from tuberculosis. On July 9, Jane was told she was Queen of England, and reluctantly accepted the fact. She was publicly proclaimed Queen with much pomp after Edward’s death was announced on July 10. Queen Jane made a state entry into the Tower of London.

What happened to Jane?

The Duke of Northumberland had to find Mary and hopefully capture her before she could gather support. However, as soon as Mary knew her half-brother was dead, she wrote a letter to the Privy Council with orders for her proclamation as Edward VI’s successor and started to gather support. By July 12, 1553, Mary and her supporters assembled a military force at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. The Duke of Northumberland set out from London with troops on July 14. The nobility was incensed with Northumberland and the people, for the most part, wanted Mary as their Queen, not Jane. In Northumberland’s absence, the Privy Council switched their allegiance from Jane to Mary and proclaimed her Queen on July 19, 1553. Mary arrived triumphantly in London on August 3, 1553, accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen.

Jane and Guildford had been in residence at the Tower of London following Jane’s proclamation as Queen. They were separated but remained at the Tower. After a few days, Guildford’s father John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Guildford’s four surviving brothers were imprisoned at the Tower of London along with Jane’s father Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk. All the men were eventually attainted and condemned to death. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553.

Jane and her husband were charged with high treason. Their trial took place on November 13, 1553, at Guildhall in London and they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane’s sentence was to “be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases.” Queen Mary seemed to be lenient and perhaps pardon Jane but the Protestant rebellion of Thomas Wyatt the Younger in January 1554 sealed Jane’s fate, although she had nothing to do with the rebellion. Wyatt’s Rebellion was a reaction to Queen Mary’s planned marriage to the future King Philip II of Spain.

The Execution

16/17-year-old Lady Jane Grey and her 18/19-year-old husband Lord Guildford Dudley were both beheaded on February 12, 1534. The day before their execution, Guildford asked for a last meeting with his wife but Jane refused saying that it “would only … increase their misery and pain, it was better to put it off … as they would meet shortly elsewhere, and live bound by indissoluble ties.” At ten o’clock on the morning of February 12, 1534, Guildford was led to Tower Hill outside the Tower of London where he was to have a public execution. He gave a brief speech to the assembled crowd, as was customary. Guildford knelt, prayed, and asked the people to pray for him. He was killed with a single blow of the ax.

From the window of her room, Jane witnessed a horse and cart bringing Guildford’s body back to the Tower.  Jane was then brought out to Tower Green inside the Tower of London where she was to have a private execution. Jane gave a short speech before her execution:

“Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen’s highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.”

Jane then recited Psalm 51, a penitential psalm (“Have mercy upon me, O God) in English and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked for her forgiveness, which she granted him, adding, “I pray you dispatch me quickly.” Referring to her head, she asked, “Will you take it off before I lay me down?” The executioner answered, “No, madam.” Jane then blindfolded herself but she failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, “What shall I do? Where is it?” Probably Sir Thomas Brydges, the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus, “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!”

Jane and Guildford were buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London where many executed there were buried including the two beheaded wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Aftermath

Jane’s father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was executed on February 23, 1554. The life of his wife Frances was now in ruins. Because her husband was a traitor, all his possessions reverted to the Crown. Frances managed to plead with her first cousin Queen Mary I to show mercy. Mary agreed that some of the Duke of Suffolk’s property could remain with the family. Frances married her Master of the Horse Adrian Stokes in March 1555. They had two stillborn children and a daughter who died in infancy. Frances, aged 42, died on November 20, 1559, at her residence Charterhouse in London with her daughters Catherine and Mary at her bedside. The cost of her funeral was paid by her first cousin Queen Elizabeth I. With her daughter Catherine acting as chief mourner, Frances was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Lord Guildford Dudley’s brothers John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley remained imprisoned at the Tower of London in the Beauchamp Tower where they made carvings in the walls. John carved their heraldic devices with his name “IOHN DVDLI” which can still be seen. In 1554, Guildford’s mother Jane Dudley and his brother-in-law Sir Henry Sidney were busy befriending the Spanish nobles around Queen Mary’s new husband, Prince Philip of Spain, hoping their influence could have the Dudley brothers released. In October 1554, John, Ambrose, Henry, and Robert Dudley were released due to their efforts. Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I from her accession until his death.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
• Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley,_1st_Duke_of_Northumberland [Accessed 28 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Lady Jane Grey. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-10-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan. (2018). Lord Guildford Dudley. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/lord-guildford-dudley/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2020].
• Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.