London took a trip back in time on Sunday as members of the King’s Army, a branch within the English Civil War Society, marched through the capital to commemorate the execution of King Charles I. The event, in its 54th year, takes place annually on the last Sunday in January to coincide with the anniversary of the execution.
Charles I was beheaded “at the hands of the Parliament” on January 30, 1649, after being found guilty of “high treason and crimes against the realm”. Each year, members of the King’s Army, as well as civilians, dress up in period clothing and re-enact the last footsteps of Charles from St James’s Palace to Banqueting House on Whitehall, where he was beheaded in front of a crowd many years ago.
Here, the Daily Express takes a look at some of the best pictures from today’s commemoration.
The annual costume march, which includes even uniforms and weapon props of the time, attracts hundreds of visitors who want to have a taste of the Caroline era. The organisers, who announced the march back in December, said that the volunteers would be wearing two shirts if the weather is cold today, so “as not to be seen to shiver with the cold,” following Charles’s footsteps.
(Image: Getty)
Charles asked for warmer clothing on the day of his execution, saying: “The season is so sharp as probably may make me shake, which some observers may imagine proceeds from fear. I would have no such imputation.” On the day, he was led under guard from St James’s Palace, where he was staying after his trial, to the Palace of Whitehall, where a scaffold had been built in front of the Banqueting House.
(Image: Getty)
“It is not for having share in government, sirs. That is nothing pertaining to them. A subject and a sovereign are clean different things, and therefore until they do that, I mean, that you do put the people in that liberty as I say, certainly they will never enjoy themselves.” Charles’s last words were: “I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the world.”
(Image: Getty)
