Today, again, we “remember” the regicide of the sainted royal martyr King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland on this day in 1649. As he stated so eloquently at his farce of a show-trial, the King fought and ultimately gave his life for a principle; not simply the principle of monarchy and royal legitimacy but the principle that no one could take what legally belonged to another. He fought for the idea that neither his rights as King nor the rights of any of his subjects should be able to be trampled on simply by brute force. King Charles I fought a noble fight, for the protection of all of his subjects, for effective government and respect for religion. In this day and age especially, when republicanism is fashionable amongst the leftist elites in Britain and where treason is tolerated, it is worth remembering that it was the King who fought for his people, who worked to bring the three kingdoms together and who wanted peace with foreign powers while it was Oliver Cromwell, the only republican leader Britain has ever had, who conquered England, Scotland and Ireland, placed everyone under military rule, held power as a dictator and carried out some of the most brutal massacres in the history of the British Isles.
This is what can be very infuriating for monarchists. Republicans (and any monarchist has encountered this, I certainly have often enough) love to speak in hypothetical terms. They invariably begin their arguments with phrases like, “what if…” and then go on to paint every monarchy as being only one breath away from being under the arbitrary rule of a drooling imbecile. However, monarchists have actual facts on our side. Britain actually did become a republic and it was a horrible, blood-soaked tyranny. That is not hypothetical, that was what really happened. We do not have to imagine anything, it is a fact of history, Britain went through it and the lesson should have been well learned. It certainly was by those who actually experienced it and so enthusiastically welcomed King Charles II home for the restoration of the monarchy. The life and death of King Charles I should not be forgotten or avoided by monarchists but proudly cited as solid evidence of what not only could happen but which actually did happen when the British monarchy was abolished.
Monarch Profile: King Charles I
The Trial and Regicide of Charles I
King Charles the Martyr
One of my favorite monarchs, along with his son, Charles II. I keep pointing out that our current regime reminds me greatly of Oliver Cromwell's.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans simply refuse to acknowledge the facts of what happens nearly every time a monarchy is overthrown. Cromwell eventually arrogated to himself almost exactly the same powers of direct rule for which he had the rightful monarch "tried" and "executed."
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the argument for giving Richard III a Catholic burial rather than in Westminster Abbey.
ReplyDeleteI have, and considering that he was a Catholic I would see no reason why any would think of giving him in Anglican burial. However, I would be very surprised if he gets any kind of official ceremony at all.
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