Biography of Charles I

A King, a martyr

19 November 1600
30 January 1649
Charles I was born on 19 November 1600 in Dunfermline (Scotland), son of James I and Anne of Denmark. Baptized by the Bishop of Ross David Lindsay on 23 December 1600 in the Royal Chapel of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, grows with some difficulty: in three years, for example, is not yet able to speak. It also suffers from rickets, and for this reason is not well seen by the Court. In five years he was appointed Duke of York and included as a Knight in the order of the bath; in 1611 he becomes a Knight of the Garter, and the following year, after the death of his elder brother Henry (Prince of Wales) because of a typhoid fever, becomes Crown Prince, a few days after her 12th birthday. In 1616 assumes the titles of Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales, and after the marriage of his sister Elizabeth, who moved to Heidelberg with her husband Frederick V of the Palatinate, is the only son of the King in England.

On the throne of England

Ascended the throne twenty-five years, in March of 1625, Charles I is getting married in May of that year with Henriette, a girl of only sixteen, by proxy, then join officially married her at Canterbury on 13 June. Already with this Act, he will earn a negative reputation: Parliament, in fact, is hostile to the presence of a Catholic Princess.

A Government without Parliament

After being crowned on 2 February 1626 by Archbishop George Abbot (without his wife, who for religious reasons), Charles I of England dissolves the Parliament and then reintroduced him shortly after, driven by the need of money: the rooms in 1628 the present the famous Petition of Right. Carlo accepts, albeit among a thousand doubts, then dissolve Parliament again when the municipalities are implementing a protest addressed to his ecclesiastical policy, deemed too in favour of Catholics. From 1629 to 1640, so Charles I is to rule without Parliament. During these years, concludes, among other things, peace be with France than with Spain: the first arrives in 1629, and the second came in 1630. In fact his Kingdom is characterized by a certain underestimation of foreign policy; on the domestic front, however, he revives stands that had previously been abolished and tributes that had fallen into disuse, hiring decisions are anything but appreciated by the people.

Charles I of England and Scotland

In 1637 causes an armed uprising in Scotland, and two years later was forced to sign the Treaty of Berwick to restore calm: then, to declare war on Scotland, choose to convene Parliament, which gathers again in 1640. It, however, once again proves unhelpful to satisfy the desires and demands of the King: for this is settled after a few weeks (it's the so-called Short Parliament, active since 13 April to 5 May). Defeated once again by the Scots after having amassed a very weak army, Carlo is induced to summon Parliament again: happens on 3 November 1640, and it's the start of the so-called long Parliament (which lasted until 1660).

The King's power in contrast to that of the Parliament

In 1641 the British monarch tries to bribe his opponents in Scotland, together with Irish Catholics, in order to form an army with which to counter the Parliament; his plan, however, fails. The following year he tries to arrest five of the most important representatives of the municipalities in Parliament, but again the attempt goes empty therefrom the 19 Propositions dating back to the summer of 1642, the purpose of which is to limit the action of Charles turning it into a simple ruler holder, without real powers. It triggers a civil war, lasting until 1645: after, Charles I, are defeated, try dealing with the winners, but without success. In 1647 he decides to run away on the Isle of Wight, and hence establishes an alliance with Scotland: seeks the help of his former enemies to recover the throne, promising them in return for three years of Presbyterianism. However the coalition of King is defeated: Carlo is then transferred to Hurst Castle, before being moved to the Windsor Castle. In the first few weeks of 1649, a law was approved by the House of Commons establishing a Commission whose function is to process the King: the prosecution is conducted by the Solicitor General John Cooke, and 135 Commissioners appointed.

The guilty King becomes a King martyr

The Court considers that Charles I guilty of high treason to the English people, and for that reason dictates that he should suffer the death penalty, which is approved by 59 Commissioners. The former monarch, then, is taken to St James's Palace as a prisoner, and from here in the Palace of Whitehall, where he has a chance to meet her sister, Princess Elizabeth. On 30 January 1649, Charles was brought out from Whitehall and conducted on a platform designed: before being executed, wearing two cotton shirts not tremble because of the cold (seeing him shake, people would have thought that he was doing out of fear). Once on the platform, say a prayer and fold the head, being decapitated with a single shot from the hangman. Subsequently, several people travelling in the direction of the basket that holds the head of Charles, to pour his blood some white handkerchiefs: it is the beginning of the myth of King martyr. Oliver Cromwell, one of the major antagonists of the King, allows the head of the sovereign is then sewn to the body because they performed the funeral, privately.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.