Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I

Summary (from the publisher): On August 18, 1648, with no relief from the siege in sight, the royalist garrison holding Colchester Castle surrendered and Oliver Cromwell’s army firmly ended the rule of Charles I of England. To send a clear message to the fallen monarch, the rebels executed four of the senior officers captured at the castle. Yet still, the king refused to accept he had lost the war. As France and other allies mobilized in support of Charles, a tribunal was hastily gathered and a death sentence was passed. On January 30, 1649, the King of England was executed.

 

This is the account of the fifty-nine regicides, the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant. Recounting a little-known corner of British history, Charles Spencer explores what happened when the Restoration arrived. From George Downing, the chief plotter, to Richard Ingoldsby, who claimed he was forced to sign his name by his cousin Oliver Cromwell, and from those who returned to the monarchist cause and betrayed their fellow regicides to those that fled the country in an attempt to escape their punishment, Spencer examines the long-lasting, far-reaching consequences not only for those who signed the warrant, but also for those who were present at the trial and for England itself. 

 

A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of England’s past, and a unique contribution to seventeenth-century history, Killers of the King tells the incredible story of the men who dared to assassinate a monarch.

 

Review: I received a copy of this book from FSB Associates.

 

Author Charles Spencer (who just so happens to be the late Lady Diana's brother) presents a well-researched and little discussed period of British History - that of the aftermath of the English Civil War that took place between 1642 and 1651. The series of conflicts was principally between the Parliamentarians and Royalists. The war resulted in the trial and beheading of King Charles I, the exile of his son Charles II, and the monarchy being replaced with the Commonwealth of England and later the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell's rule. However, in 1660, King Charles II was able to regain his throne - and begin to pursue the fifty-nine regicides who had signed his father's death warrant.

 

Although this book is not about Charles, I did wish that a bit more about the king had been included, at least for the purpose of providing historical context. Charles I was the son of James VI of Scotland, who succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603. It seems that Charles' "kingly philosophy: that he was answerable only to God" led to his mistaken thinking that his actions would never be questioned, even as political unrest churned throughout his kingdom (4). Even in defeat and under guard, Charles continued to believe in his heavenly rule, telling the officers holding him in custody, "You cannot be without me; you will fall to ruin, if I do not sustain you" (10).

 

In the years after Charles II regained the throne, several of the regicides were executed. Others who had died before Charles II regained power were dug up and their remains symbolically executed. Others ran for the life. Goffe and Whalley fled to the New Haven in the colonies, where they were spirited from house to house and even spent time in a cave for some weeks. In fact, to punish New Haven for failing to catch and hand over the men, the colony was "forcibly and permanently absorbed into Connecticut" (286).

 

This work of non-fiction gives insight into a period of English history that is infrequently discussed. I do wish more context had been given to the tale, but its undeniable that Spencer has researched the fates of the 59 men thoroughly, seeking out each one of their fates. This book also includes a very graphic, detailed description of hanging, drawing, and quartering as a mode of execution. I was of course familiar with this punishment, but I was unaware that each phase of the death is symbolic: hanging to indicate the death of a condemned criminal, castration to symbolically terminate his power and emphasize that the man's children were disinherited, disemboweling to signify the tearing out of evil thought to reside in the hearts and innards, and the head cut off because it was believed to be "the repository of the evil designs" (151). That being said, the accounting of each of the executions was difficult to read.

 

I don't find this the most fascinating portion of British history, and it was difficult to follow a history that focused on the fates of fifty-nine different men. However, I do acknowledge the relevance of the history conveyed by this book and the quality of the writing. 

 

Stars: 3