It's the Martyr King's Feast today; they killed him on January 30th, 1649. We do not forget this Christian monarch who rode into Edgehill I in golden armour. That was, when you think on it, the last shout of the Middle Ages, and what a chivalric shout it was. But let's not forget Henrietta Maria, here she is:
You'll note her very well deserved pearls. No Bishop No King, eh?
Your Pal,
LSP
5 comments:
Charles I was executed on a charge the King 'hath had a wicked design totally to subvert the ancient and fundamental laws and liberties of this nation' with several portents also predicting his demise as well as Nostradamus. During the Commonwealth Charles I was remembered on 30 January by meetings of the rather distasteful Calves' Head Club which held a feast to commemorate it. After the Restoration the Calves' Head Club was disbanded and the date kept as a religious observance, fasting and humiliation being key themes, though there were no approaches to the Vatican for canonization. The Feast of Charles I was popular until suppressed in 1859 and there are a number of English churches dedicated to him. Several short services are held in London on this date including the laying of wreaths at his statue in Whitehall and his bust at the Banqueting House, scene of his decapitation. The King's last recorded word before the block was, "Remember".
And she's wearing a crown. Nice.
I thought exactly that, Jules. She was more than a bit of a hero, imo.
Thanks for the history, UKR.
I dimly recall the Calves Head Club, wasn't there some kind of firey furore? But more so the portrait of CI above the statue of Our Lady at St. Mary Magdelene's (Mary Mags) in Oxford. As a Boat Boy in the '70s, I'd stare up at it and became convinced of regal dignity.
Then there's Whitehall. Before his execution, Charles met with Cromwell, apparently, and the former asked, "Do you not take your hat off before your King?" to which the regicide protestant dictator replied, "We have no king but God."
Well, they haven't changed much, have they.
Remember.
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