The Army, Parliament and the Execution of Charles I

This political divide was deepened by religious tensions, an era OCR describes as "The World Turned Upside Down" due to the radical social upheaval. The Presbyterians had signed the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643, promising the Scots a national, state-run church governed by a hierarchy of elders. They strongly opposed religious toleration for radical sects.

Conversely, the Independents advocated for a gathered church system, where individual congregations remained independent of state control. To break the Presbyterian military leadership, the Independents pushed through the Self-Denying Ordinance in April 1645. This forced conservative commanders like the Earl of Manchester and the Earl of Essex to resign, paving the way for the radical New Model Army, with Oliver Cromwell uniquely allowed to retain both his military and parliamentary roles.

The Failure of Negotiations and the Second Civil War

How do you negotiate with a defeated king who believes he answers only to God? As Parliament and the Army presented competing peace settlements, Charles I played them against each other.

Feature	Newcastle Propositions (1646)	Heads of the Proposals (1647)
Authors	Presbyterian-dominated Parliament	Independent-leaning Army (drafted by Henry Ireton)
Religion	King must sign the Covenant; strict Presbyterian church for 3 years.	More lenient; bishops remain but cannot punish non-conformists.
Military	Parliament controls the militia for 20 years.	Parliament controls the army for 10 years.
Politics	Highly restrictive on Royalists.	Required biennial Parliaments.

By 1647, tensions reached a breaking point. The Presbyterian Parliament attempted to disband the New Model Army without paying their £3 million in wage arrears. In response, the Army seized Charles at Holmby House, marched on London, and forced out eleven leading Presbyterian MPs.

Charles cemented his reputation for untrustworthiness by secretly signing The Engagement with the Scottish Covenanters in December 1647. This sparked the Second Civil War in 1648. After Cromwell's decisive victory over the Scots at the Battle of Preston, the Army concluded that Charles was a Man of Blood. They believed their victory was Providence, a sign that God had judged the King and that negotiation must be replaced by justice.

Pride's Purge and the Rise of the Grandees

On 5 December 1648, Parliament voted 129 to 83 to continue the Newport Treaty negotiations with the King. The Army viewed this as a devastating betrayal. High-ranking officers known as Grandees, alongside radical soldier representatives called Agitators, took immediate action. The Remonstrance of the Army, drafted by Henry Ireton in November 1648, had already demanded the King be brought to justice as the "capital and grand author of our troubles."

On 6 December 1648, Pride's Purge took place. Colonel Thomas Pride excluded between 140 and 186 MPs and arrested 45 others. The remaining group of roughly 80 MPs became known as the Rump Parliament, marking the only successful military coup d'état in English history and ensuring the King's trial could proceed.

The Trial and Execution of Charles I

On 6 January 1649, after the House of Lords refused to participate, the Rump Parliament created the High Court of Justice. The trial took place at Westminster Hall from 20 to 27 January. Charles was charged as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy." He refused to enter a plea, arguing that the court had no legal authority and claiming the Divine Right of kings made him answerable only to God.

On 30 January 1649, Charles was executed outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Ultimately, 59 commissioners signed his death warrant, becoming known as the Regicides.

Evaluating the Inevitability of the Execution

Historians debate whether the execution of Charles I was an inevitable outcome of the Civil War.

• Arguments for Inevitability:
  • Charles's Untrustworthiness: His decision to sign The Engagement while negotiating peace settlements convinced the Army that no treaty could ever bind him.
  • Army Radicalisation: The Second Civil War transformed the Army's goal from political settlement to divine justice, viewing Charles as a Man of Blood who must be punished.
  • The Remonstrance: The military leadership (Grandees) had publicly committed to a trial by November 1648, making a climbdown politically impossible.
• Arguments against Inevitability:
  • Parliamentary Opposition: Until the very morning of Pride's Purge, a majority of MPs were still voting to negotiate with the King (the Newport Treaty).
  • Lack of Popular Support: The trial was the work of a radical minority; only 68 of the 135 appointed commissioners even attended the trial, showing deep hesitation even among the victors.
  • The Purge as a Catalyst: Without the "unconstitutional" military coup of Pride's Purge, the trial would never have had a legal or political path forward.

Balanced Judgement: The execution was not an inevitable consequence of the first war. However, it became practically inevitable once Charles restarted the conflict via The Engagement. This act destroyed his political credibility and radicalised the Army to the point where they felt "providentially" mandated to remove him, eventually requiring a military coup to silence the moderate majority who still favoured a compromise.

The Declaration of the Republic

The transition from a monarchy to a republic was not a popular uprising, but a structured legal dismantling engineered by the Rump Parliament.

The Process of Transition (1648–1649):

1. Military Coup: Pride's Purge removed moderate opposition.
2. Legal Supremacy: On 4 January 1649, the Rump passed the Supremacy Ordinance, declaring itself the supreme power.
3. Regicide: The King was executed in January.
4. Structural Dismantling: In March 1649, Acts were passed abolishing the monarchy and the House of Lords.
5. Formal Republic: On 19 May 1649, England was officially declared a Commonwealth.

Executive power was handed to a 41-member Council of State. However, the Rump remained entirely dependent on the New Model Army, leading to constant tension between the legal government and the military force that created it.