Charles I of England

Life events

1. Born — 1600

   Charles was born at Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600, the second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. As a sickly infant with a stammer that persisted throughout his life, he remained in Scotland when his family departed for England in 1603.

2. Baptized — 1600

   On 23 December 1600, Charles was baptised by David Lindsay, Bishop of Ross, at the Chapel Royal of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, and created Duke of Albany with the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Ormond, Earl of Ross and Lord Ardmannoch.

3. Other — 1625

   Charles acceded to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland on 27 March 1625 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 February 1626; his Catholic wife Henrietta Maria refused to participate in the Protestant coronation ceremony.

4. Other — 1629

   On 2 March 1629, after members of the House of Commons forcibly held Speaker Sir John Finch in his chair to pass resolutions against his policies, Charles dissolved Parliament and imprisoned nine parliamentary leaders including Sir John Eliot, inaugurating eleven years of Personal Rule without Parliament.

5. Other — 1642

   On 4 January 1642, Charles entered the House of Commons with an armed guard to arrest five MPs (John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, William Strode, and Sir Arthur Haselrig) but they had escaped by boat; he raised the royal standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, formally beginning the English Civil War.

6. Imprisoned — 1647

   After his defeat at the Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645, Charles surrendered to Scottish forces and was handed to the English Parliament in January 1647 for 100,000 pounds; he fled to the Isle of Wight in November 1647, where Parliamentary Governor Robert Hammond confined him in Carisbrooke Castle.

7. Martyred — 1649

   On 30 January 1649, Charles was beheaded in a single stroke outside the Banqueting House, Whitehall, after being convicted of high treason by the High Court of Justice established by the Rump Parliament; he was 48 years old, and 59 commissioners signed his death warrant.

8. Other — 1649

   Charles was buried privately on 9 February 1649 in the quire of St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, alongside the coffins of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, after the commission refused burial at Westminster Abbey.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Ten days after his execution, the Eikon Basilike (Greek for Royal Portrait), a memoir purportedly written by Charles, appeared for sale and proved highly effective royalist propaganda, prompting John Milton's Parliamentary rejoinder Eikonoklastes. (certain)
• By his death Charles had amassed an estimated 1,760 paintings, including works by Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Anthony van Dyck; Parliament sold and dispersed most of the collection after his execution. (likely)
• In the Convocations of Canterbury and York of 1660, Charles was added to the Church of England liturgical calendar as King Charles the Martyr, with his feast observed on 30 January, the anniversary of his execution. (certain)
• Charles entry into the House of Commons on 4 January 1642 with an armed guard was the first time an English sovereign had entered the chamber; the breach of parliamentary privilege is commemorated annually at the State Opening of Parliament. (certain)
• Charles called for two shirts on the morning of his execution, telling attendants that cold weather might cause him to shiver and he did not want onlookers to mistake trembling for fear. (likely)