Today in 1600 James VI of Scotland and his wife Anne of Denmark, had a son, Charles. This second son of James – who would become James I of England upon Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603 – was never meant to be the King. His brother Prince Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1612, and at that point Charles became the heir.
Charles would become famous as the king who suffered the act of regicide in the English Civil War. His quarrels with Parliament would simmer until civil war seemed inevitable. By all accounts Charles was a loving husband and father, and if anything he may have been too lenient on his enemies, believing in his divine right to rule, and that nothing could end that. He was killed in January 1649, but after 11 years of trying to form a Commonwealth, there was still division in England, and Charles’ son, also Charles, was able to take back the throne denied to his father.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
The White King by Leanda de Lisle
Spring 2019 Tudor Summit: Leanda de Lisle on Charles I
From the shop:
The 2023 Tudor Planner
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
