Charles I's Executioners

This biographical history of the English Civil War profiles the lives and ultimate fates of the nearly 60 men who sentenced their king to death.

On January 30th, 1649, King Charles I was executed on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House of Whitehall. The parliamentarian High Court of Justice declared him guilty of treason, disregarding the Divine Right of Kings. Fifty-nine commissioners signed his death warrant.

These killers of the king were soldiers, lawyers, Puritans, Republicans—and some mere opportunists—all brought together under one infamous banner. In Charles I’s Executioners, James Hobson explores the lives of these men, shedding new light on their backgrounds, ideals, and motives.

Their stories are a powerful tale of revenge and clashing convictions; their futures determined by their one fateful decision. When Charles II was restored, he enacted a deadly wave of retribution against the signatories. Some pleaded for mercy, many went into hiding or fled abroad, while others stoically awaited their sentence.