👑 Part 1: The Tyrant King King Charles I was a short man (163cm) with a severe stammer, but his ego was immense. He firmly believed in the "Divine Right of Kings" and forced Anglican worship rituals upon the church. To collect taxes without Parliament's consent, he used every means possible: charging fees for knighthoods, abusing the right of forced purchase to buy goods cheaply, and selling government offices. However, his attempt to impose the Anglican Church on Scotland sparked a massive rebellion. The Scottish army, allied with the English Parliament and led by the rising star Oliver Cromwell, crushed the Royalist forces. Charles I fled to Scotland, but the Scots sold him to Cromwell for money.
Part 2: The First Execution (January 30, 1649) On this day in 1649, Charles I was beheaded for treason. He became the first—and last—English monarch to be publicly executed. Oliver Cromwell rose to become the Lord Protector, the supreme ruler of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Part 3: The Macabre Revenge (January 30, 1661) After Cromwell's death in 1658, the monarchy was restored, and Charles I's son, Charles II, ascended the throne. He did not forget. On this day in 1661, exactly 12 years after his father's death, Charles II ordered Cromwell's body to be exhumed from its grave and beheaded. It was a calculated act of posthumous execution. Cromwell's severed head was displayed on a spike above Westminster Hall for over 20 years. It took 299 years for his head to finally find a proper burial.
(Source: Lineages of the Absolutist State by Perry Anderson)
Oliver Cromwell's head was donated to his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College. To prevent theft or vandalism, the university buried it in a secret location within the campus. Today, only a plaque near the chapel entrance marks his presence, quietly stating:
ReplyDelete"Near to this place was buried..."🕊️