Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland

Charles I (19 November 1600- 3- January1649) king of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until his execution in 1649, second son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark. He married Henrietta Maria, sister of French king Louis XIV in 1625, after he succeeded his father in March 1625. He was under the influence of the Duke of Buckingham until his assassination in 1628. Three Parliaments were summoned and dismissed in the first four years of his reign; then for eleven years Charles ruled without one. His extension of the ship tax to the inland counties met resistance of the landowners and his attempt in 1637 to anglicize the Scottish Church resulted in the active resistance of the Scots. In 1640, Charles was forced to summon the Parliament to raise money for the war. The "Short Parliament" was dismissed in 3 weeks, the "Long Parliament" outlasted the King. Parliament demanded from Charles to remove his chief advisors the Earl of Strafford and Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Earl of Strafford was sacrificed by the King to insure the Queen's safety and was executed in May 1641 by the Act of Parliament. Charles was also forced to sign a doucment which stated that the existing parliament would not be dissolved without his own consent. In 1642, Charles tried to arrest five members of the Parliament, which led to the Civil War (1642-1646). Charles was defeated and on the 5th of May, 1646 he surrendered to the Scots at Newark. He was subjected to trial at Westminster. Charles faced it bravely and with dignity. Thrice he refuse to plead, denying the competence of such a court, he was found guilty and sentenced to public execution. On the 30th of January 1649 he died on the scaffold in front of the Whitehall with a courage worthy of a martyr. Charles had six children, who outlived him:
Charles II (1630-1685), James II (1633-1701), Mary, Princess of Orange (1631-1660), Elizabeth (1635-1650), Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1639-1660) and Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans (1644-1670).
See: Anthony van Dyck.  Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria with Charles, Prince of Wales and Princess Mary. Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, King of England with Seignior de St. Antoine. Charles I, King of England, at the Hunt. Children of Charles I. Charles I, King of England. Children of Charles I. Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, King of England.