January 30, 1649 · London Theater
January 30, 1649
After being tried before a specially constituted High Court of Justice — which Charles refused to recognize as legitimate — King Charles I was condemned for treason against his own people. On a bitterly cold January morning outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the King walked to the scaffold wearing two shirts so the cold would not make him shiver and appear afraid. He spoke briefly, maintaining his belief in kingly prerogative to the end. The executioner struck off his head with a single blow. The crowd let out a groan — a sound no English crowd had ever made before.
Commanders