History UsefulNotes / CharlesI

->[[caption-width-right:350:"A subject and a sovereign are clean different things."]]

->''“Charles the First was a king of England. He was what we call a ‘dickhead’ king.”''

His antagonism of Parliament & the Church of England and his mishandling of rebellions in Scotland and Ireland sparked the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar which would end in his execution and the setting up of the Protectorate under UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell.

He is to date the only English or British monarch to ever set foot within the House of Commons.[[note]] George VI toured the chamber while it was being refurbished in the 1940s, but it technically wasn't the Commons at the time [[/note]] Notoriously, he led an armed guard to storm the House after it rejected his demands that Parliament turn over five members whom he had accused of treason over their plans to impeach his queen for plotting with fellow Catholics. The five members were pre-warned and had fled before the King and his troops arrived (leading the king to reportedly mutter the earliest recorded use of the phrase "All my birds are flown" upon seeing this), but this significantly damaged Charles's relationship with the people, suggested he was willing to turn to tyranny, and was a significant factor leading to the Civil War. To this day, the Monarch is barred from entering the Commons and, at the State Opening of Parliament, may only communicate via an emissary, "Black Rod", who initially has the doors slammed in his face as a symbolic reminder of Parliament's sovereignty.

The states of North & South Carolina were named after him ('Charles' in Latin is ''Carolus''). Maryland is named after his queen Henrietta Maria (the story that this was a sly reference to the Virgin Mary by the province's Catholic proprietors is generally considered untrue).

* ''Film/ToKillAKing'', played by RupertEverett. He is, of course, the titular king.

* In the first ''[[Literature/{{Alatriste}} Captain Alatriste]]'' book, the titular captain is recruited to waylay and assassinate a couple of Englishmen travelling through Madrid. One of them turns out to be a young Charles, visiting Spain in secret to consider marrying the Infanta of Spain.

* Portrayed by Creator/AlecGuinness in the 1970 film ''Film/{{Cromwell}}'', opposite Creator/RichardHarris as the title character. It's not an entirely unsympathetic portrait, focusing on his good moral character and religious devotion, but it doesn't shy away from Charles's flaws either, particularly when he throws away generous terms (considering he'd just, you know, lost the civil war) in favor of plotting to start the next one like he historically did. It's Queen Henrietta Maria that gets most of the HistoricalVillainUpgrade into a scheming LadyMacBeth, encouraging his autocratic impulses and, later, attempting to convince him to make a DealWithTheDevil to import Catholic armies to put down the insurrection.
* Plays a major role in ''Literature/TwentyYearsAfter'', where the musketeers mount an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save Charles' life at the behest of his wife, living more or less in exile in France. He gets a major HistoricalHeroUpgrade, being presented as the innocent victim of power-mad English commoners (the heroes of the book being aristocrats to various degrees, and French).

!! Tropes related to Charles I:
* {{Big Brother Bully}}: It’s known Charles’s older brother Henry Prince of Wales was not very nice to his younger brother, often putting him down, making him cry and overshadowing him. It appears their father, James I of England and VI of Scots favoured Henry over Charles (of course James wasn’t exactly an amazing parent, being more like a schoolmaster to his sons, and in later years of Henry’s life James and his eldest son had a rocky relationship).
* {{Happily Married}}: Though the marriage got off to a bad start, Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria of France had a loving and somewhat playful relationship. Charles actually wanted to appoint his wife as one of his Chief Councillors.
* KangarooCourt: Since the trial was hand-picked by the people who had just defeated him, him being found guilty of high treason and his subsequent death sentence were a ForegoneConclusion. The trial was more a short series of CourtroomAntics than anything else.

[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Charlesx3_8560.JPG]]
->[[caption-width-right:220:"A subject and a sovereign are clean different things."]]

* Portrayed by Creator/AlecGuinness in the 1970 film ''Film/{{Cromwell}}'', opposite Creator/RichardHarris as the title character.

-->--'''Creator/EddieIzzard'''

* Played by Creator/StephenFry in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}: The Cavalier Years''. Fry [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based his portrayal of the king]] on his contemporary royal namesake, [[UsefulNotes/CharlesIII Prince Charles]].

* {{Big Brother Bully}}: It’s known Charles’s older brother Henry Prince of Wales was not very nice to his younger brother, often putting him down, making him cry and overshadowing him. It appears their father, James I of England and VI of Scots favoured Henry over Charles (of course James wasn’t exactly an amazing parent, being more like a schoolmaster to his sons, and in later years of Henry’s life James and his eldest son had a rocky relationship.

* Played by Creator/StephenFry in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}: The Cavalier Years''. Fry [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based his portrayal of the king]] on his contemporary royal namesake, [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Prince Charles]].

He is to date the last English or British monarch to ever set foot within the House of Commons. Notoriously, he led an armed guard to storm the House after it rejected his demands that Parliament turn over five members whom he had accused of treason over their plans to impeach his queen for plotting with fellow Catholics. The five members were pre-warned and had fled before the King and his troops arrived (leading the king to reportedly mutter the earliest recorded use of the phrase "All my birds are flown" upon seeing this), but this significantly damaged Charles's relationship with the people, suggested he was willing to turn to tyranny, and was a significant factor leading to the Civil War. To this day, the Monarch is barred from entering the Commons and, at the State Opening of Parliament, may only communicate via an emissary, "Black Rod", who initially has the doors slammed in his face as a symbolic reminder of Parliament's sovereignty.

Charles I (1600 – 1649) was son of James I and the second king of Great Britain from UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart. Many who first saw him thought that he would be an improvement over his father.

Charles was a man of good moral character but his autocratic attitude, failure to understand politics, and lack of personal warmth made him a lot of enemies. He remains one of the most controversial and tragic figures in British history.

->[[caption-width-right:220:[[FamousLastWords "A subject and a sovereign are clean different things."]]]]

* Portrayed by Creator/AlecGuinness in the 1970 film ''[[Film/Cromwell1970 Cromwell]]'', opposite Creator/RichardHarris as the title character.

* Portrayed by Creator/AlecGuinness in the 1970 film ''Cromwell'', opposite Creator/RichardHarris.

Charles was a man of good moral character but his autocratic attitude and lack of personal warmth made him a lot of enemies. He remains one of the most controversial and tragic figures in British history.

* Plays a major role in ''Literature/TwentyYearsAfter'', where the musketeers mount an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save Charles' life at the behest of his wife, living more or less in exile in France. He gets a major HistoricalHeroUpgrade, being presented as the innocent victim of power-mad commoners.

The states of North & South Carolina were named after him (in Latin). Maryland is named after his queen Henrietta Maria (the story that this was a sly reference to the Virgin Mary by the province's Catholic proprietors is generally considered untrue).

His antagonism of Parliament & the Church of England and his mishandling of rebellions in Scotland and Ireland sparked the EnglishCivilWar which would end in his execution and the setting up of the Protectorate under UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell.

* Played by Creator/StephenFry in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}: The Cavalier Years''. Fry [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based his portrayal of the king]] on his contemporary royal namesake, [[BritishRoyalFamily Prince Charles]].

* ToKillAKing, played by RupertEverett. He is, of course, the titular king.

!!Tropes related to Charles I:
* AffablyEvil - Charles was always polite, even when threatening his subjects.
* DeadArtistsAreBetter - Thanks to the Icon Basilica released after his death.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: He did not bother with a coronation procession.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: His attendant remembered the king treating his execution like his "second marriage day".
-->'''Charles''': "At last I will be espoused with my beloved Jesus."
* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: It was not until he was 4 years old that he was well enough to travel to London to be with his family.
* [[GeorgeWashingtonSleptHere Charles I Slept Here]]: A ''lot'' of country houses and hotels insist the King spent the night there.
* ManipulativeBastard
* OffWithHisHead: This wasn't the first time a monarch in Britain had been executed (see [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland MaryQueenOfScots]]) but the first time it was done by the monarch's subjects. Needless to say, this event shocked the crowned heads of Europe.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: He was never supposed to be king until his older brother Henry died of sickness

->"Charles the First was a king of England. He was what we call a 'dickhead' king."
-->- '''Creator/EddieIzzard'''

Charles I (1600 – 1649) was son of James I and the second king of Great Britain from TheHouseOfStuart. Many who first saw him thought that he would be an improvement over his father.