The bloody and sad reign of Charles I

King Charles I, 1600-1649 (reigned 1625-1649)

When Charles was born in Dunfermline in November 1600 he wasn't destined to be king, let alone reign over the entire British Isles. The second son of King James VI of Scotland, his early years was spent in the shadow of his older brother and heir to the throne Henry Frederick. Following the death of childless Queen Elizabeth I, Charles' father ascended to the throne of England becoming King James VI of Scotland and I of England. Charles was initially left behind in Scotland due to his fragile health and until 1612 was the forgotten prince suffering from ill health and a stammer that would plague him his entire life. Tragedy struck in 1612 when the heir, Henry Frederick died of typhoid and Charles was thrust to being first in line to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Controlling parliament had become an increasingly difficult task and while James was a pragmatic and astute politician he did not pass these qualities on to his son. When James died in 1625, Charles' troubled relationship with parliament would be the defining feature of his tragic reign. It is a modern misconception to think that Charles trying to rule without parliament was the cause of the civil war - ruling without parliament was not uncommon and Charles managed it from 1629-1640. The issue arose when he needed money to quell a rebellion in Scotland started by his commitment to bring the church in Scotland under his control. Throughout the first 15 years of Charles' reign a rift had been emerging in the religious settlement brokered by Elizabeth (how settled that settlement was is a topic for another time). This rift was not between Catholic and Protestant but rather two groups of protestants; Arminians who sought clerical authority and puritans who saw Arminianism as a backdoor to Catholicism.

Only parliament could legally raise taxes and Charles tried several methods to raise funds so he could avoid recalling parliament. These methods were politically controversial and legally dubious, further inflaming the sense of outrage across Charles' realms - eventually he was left with no alternative and in 1640 he recalled parliament. Puritan groups within parliament used Charles' financial difficulties to push forward their religious agenda which culminated in the Grand Remonstrance of December 1641 - a list of grievances while not directly laid at the king, their intention was clear. Matters were made worse by a rebellion in Ireland which stoked anti-Catholic hysteria in England and many believed Charles' Catholic wife Queen Henrietta Maria was conspiring with the Irish rebels.

On January 4th 1642 Charles stormed parliament, believing they had worked with the Scottish rebels and fearing for his wife's life he tried to re-establish his authority by arresting five leading members of the puritan party. Unfortunately for Charles the five members (contrary to popular belief Cromwell was not one of them) had been warned and escaped. Charles' unprecedented invasion of the House of Commons was a severe breach of the rights of parliament and shattered any chance of a peaceful settlement to the divisions separating the royalists and parliamentarians.

What would follow was the bloodiest conflict ever witnessed on these isles, while exact figures are impossible to know estimates are that England lost 4% of its population, Scotland 6% and Ireland suffered a devastating 41%. For context, the UK lost 2% of its population during WW1, less than 1% in WW2 and Ireland lost 16% during the great famine of the 19th Century.

The civil wars, their causes and legacy is still a hotly debated topic - however, there is one conclusion I want to draw which relates to the modern monarchy. Everyone knows that Charles I's reign ended with his trial and execution, this was followed by a brief period of republican rule and dictatorial rule under Cromwell before the monarchy restored under Charles II. The civil wars set in motion a series of events which would lead to our current constitutional monarchy - between then and now many great monarchies have fallen, France, Germany and Russia to name a few but Britain remains. After Charles I was executed Cromwell was rumoured to have visited his coffin and remarked "a cruel necessity!". I believe this is what Charles III meant when he said he felt 'the weight of history' upon ascending to the throne - the British monarchy, especially a monarch with the name Charles knows the stakes.