Charles I traces the reign of the Stuart king whose disputes with Parliament ended in civil war, defeat and execution. It examines his beliefs about monarchy, his financial expedients during the Personal Rule and the religious policies associated with William Laud.
The biography follows crises in Scotland and Ireland, the breakdown of political negotiation and Charles’s leadership during the English Civil War. His trial in 1649 transformed a dynastic conflict into an unprecedented judgement on royal authority and left a contested legacy of martyrdom, tyranny and constitutional change.
