Person    | Male  Born 19/11/1600  Died 30/1/1649

King Charles I

Categories: Execution, Royalty, Seriously Famous

Countries: Scotland

Born Fife. Until the age of 11 he was only the 'spare' but then his 18-year old brother Henry died (probably of typhoid) and Charles became the heir, ascending the throne in 1625 on the death of his father, James I. His wife (1625) Henrietta Maria of France was Catholic, he was a High Anglican.

Only 5 feet 4 inches tall, Charles was a firm believer in the divine right of kings and fell out with Parliament in a big way, mainly over money. This all led to the Civil War (1642 - 1646). Charles eventually surrendered and was tried for treason by a tribunal with 135 commissioners who acted as judges and jury, although only 68 ever participated at the trial. He lost by one vote and was beheaded outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

21 of those held responsible for his death who had since died and been buried in Westminster Abbey were, on the restoration of his son, Charles II, to the monarchy, dug up and moved to an unmarked pit at nearby St Margarets. See Reburied parliamentarians.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
King Charles I

Commemorated ati

Brentford Monument

Brentford High Street have carried out some magnificent research on Brentford...

Read More

Charles I - beheaded

In about 1945 Hedley Hope-Nicholson, a Charles I fan and central member of th...

Read More

Charles I bust at St Margarets

This is one of a pair, See Charles I beheaded for more information. IanVisit...

Read More

Charles I - Harrow on the Hill

{Above the portrait bust:} Carolus Rex {Below the portrait bust:} Near this ...

Read More

Charles I statue

Made in 1633 during Charles I's reign, London’s oldest bronze statue was inte...

Read More

Show all 13

Other Subjects

Patrick Packingham

Patrick Packingham

Burnt at the stake in Uxbridge for his Protestant beliefs. Aged 23. He was charged with not doing deference to Romish ceremonies, and was condemned by Bishop Bonner, his cause not being heard.  T...

Person, Execution, Religion

2 memorials
Corporal Malcolm MacPhearson

Corporal Malcolm MacPhearson

See Farquar Shaw for the story of the Black Watch mutiny.

Person, Armed Forces, Execution, Scotland

1 memorial
John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester

John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester

Born Yorkshire.  Opposed Henry VIII's self-appointment as head of the Church of England.  Result: decapitation on Tower Hill.

Person, Execution, Politics & Administration, Religion

2 memorials
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford

John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford

Born in Essex.  Caught supporting the wrong side when Edward IV assumed the throne, he was arrested and convicted of high treason which led to the loss of his head at Tower Hill.

Person, Execution, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Sir William Wallace

Sir William Wallace

Scottish knight and national hero. Born Renfrewshire. Convicted of treason Wallace was executed at Smithfield. He was hanged, drawn and quartered - a very gruesome death reserved for traitors. Mel ...

Person, Execution, Nationalism, Scotland

2 memorials

Previously viewed

Marquess of Pombal

Marquess of Pombal

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal and 1st Count of Oeiras was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on 13 May 1699.  In 1738, he received his first public appointment as the Portuguese ...

Person, Politics & Administration, Austria, Portugal

1 memorial
Earl Birkenhead

Earl Birkenhead

SW1, Grosvenor Gardens, 32

London County Council F. E. Smith, Earl of Birkenhead, 1872 - 1930, lawyer and statesman, lived here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Kensington Library - Princess Alice Garden - created

Kensington Library - Princess Alice Garden - created

W8, Philimore Walk, Kensington Central Library

The library, by E. Vincent Harris and opened in 1960, is the building to the south, the left of our picture. The Library Time Machine mus...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
G. F. Watts

G. F. Watts

Born in London. His piano-making father named him after Handel. Member of the Holland Park Circle, an informal group of 19th-century artists based in the Holland Park district, especially in Melbu...

Person, Art, Sculpture

18 memorials
Bronwyn Louise Cartwright

Bronwyn Louise Cartwright

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial