Charles I of England
Charles I of England (1600-49), King of Britain and Ireland from 1625, son of James I. His firm belief that as king he ruled by divine right led to a breakdown in his relations with Parliament and eventually to civil war. He dissolved Parliament and attempted to rule without it. In 1640 he was forced to convene Parliament, which took the opportunity to assert its exclusive right to raise taxes. Charles declared war on Parliament in 1642 but suffered decisive defeats at Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby (1645). In 1649 he was tried and condemned for treason and was beheaded outside the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall. Despite his failure as a king, Charles’s blatantly unjust trial led him to be hailed as a martyr after his execution.
