Happily for future generations, Charles I spent a great deal on fine art even while his relationship with Parliament deteriorated. Members of the royal family were frequent subjects of famous painters. The Royal Collection today contains many wonderful portraits of the king, his wife Queen Henrietta Marie (sister of the king of France), and their children. (The paintings depicted in these links were created by Anthony van Dyck in 1635.)

In 1649, after the authority of Parliament was continually challenged by the power of the King, the country fought a Civil War. Charles I was arrested and charged with high treason. This presented an interesting issue: No English law dealt with the trial of the sovereign. Finally, using a Roman law allowing the military to overthrow a tyrant, a court was convened that would try Charles I.

The king, of course, considered the whole process to be completely illegal. Although forced to attend the proceedings, he viewed (this is a PDF link) the trial with contempt. The public, squarely in favor of Charles I, was not allowed into the hall until the charge of treason had been read.

Found guilty, Charles I was condemned to death on January 26, 1649. (Follow this link to the order condemning him.) Sentence would be carried out at the Royal Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Four days later, the executioner assigned to swing the axe could not be found. A substitute was located; his identity is not known to this day. Unlike the tortuous death his grandmother endured, it took just one swing of the axe to sever the king’s head. He was 48.

Forces loyal to the Crown ultimately defeated Parliamentary forces, led by the Puritan Oliver Cromwell. Charles II, son of Charles I and grandson of James I/VI, was invited back as monarch in 1660.