The King's Revenge (51 page)
Wood, Anthony,
213
Woolrych, Austin,
Britain in Revolution
,
119
Worcester, Battle of (3 September 1651),
85
–
6
,
109
,
194
Wren, Christopher,
314
Wyndham, Christabella,
13
Young, William,
189
Zurich,
288
Don Jordan is a writer and filmmaker who has won, among other awards, two Blue Ribbons at the New York Film and Television
Festival. He has worked widely in television current affairs, documentaries and drama. He co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning
feature film,
Love is the Devil
, about the painter Francis Bacon.
Michael Walsh is a writer and filmmaker. After twelve years as a reporter/presenter on the ITV series
World in Action
, he has made many other films, most recently a documentary on the Holocaust. His programmes have won six national and international
awards.
Together they have written three books, including
White Cargo
, acclaimed by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison as ‘an extraordinary book’.
The trial of Charles I in Westminster Hall in January 1649. The king sits facing two clerks at a table, with his back to the
viewer. Behind the clerks sit the ranks of the commissioners, or judges, who would become known as ‘regicides’.
INTERFOTQ
/Sammlung Rauch/
MEPL
The death warrant of Charles I, which was signed by fifty-nine judges. The signature of Richard Ingoldsby (inset) is particularly
clear and assured, despite his later claim that Oliver Cromwell held his hand and made him sign.
INTERFOTQ
/Sammlung Rauch/
MEPL
A contemporary woodcut of the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649. The illustration was far from accurate – not unusual
for the time. The executioner wore a mask and a false beard, and he had an assistant, also disguised. British Museum
This engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar is of a brooding Charles II, the year after his father was executed. The text asserts
his claim to the thrones of Great Britain, France and Ireland, even though he was living in exile on the charity of others. University of Toronto
The frontispiece of
Eikon Basilike
(‘The King’s Image’), a royalist propaganda publication, which appeared within days of Charles I’s execution. Here Charles
is portrayed as a holy martyr, envisaging a heavenly crown. His temporal crown is lying abandoned at his feet. British library
077713
A contemporary portrait of John Milton by Wenceslaus Hollar. Milton was an active opponent of the monarchy. After the restoration,
his life was in jeopardy. Authors’ collection
Radical lawyer John Cook led the prosecution of Charles I. Following the restoration, he was charged with high treason in
a notorious show trial, despite protesting that he had only done his legal duty. NPG
George Monck, the enigmatic general whom republican leaders saw as their saviour. The former royalist had other plans, however,
and was later rewarded with a dukedom. Authors’ collection
John Lambert, the republicans’ last hope, led his troops against Monck and was humiliated. Authors’ collection
Charles II was crowned king of Scotland by the Marquis of Argyll at Scone in 1651. Charles promised to make Argyll a duke
but ten years later consigned the great Covenanter to the gallows. Private collection/Bridgeman Art library
This group portrait depicts eleven prominent regicides, with Oliver Cromwell in the centre. In fact, only eight sat in judgment
on the king. Two, Daniel Axtell and Francis Hacker, were merely officers of the guard, while a third, Hugh Peters, was a Puritan
cleric who preached to the court. Their lowly station did not save them from Charles II’s revenge. British Museum
Sir George Downing, the arch-turncoat, who entrapped old comrades and sent them to the brutal deaths reserved for traitors.
Private collection/London Library