King’s Army still marching on, 371 years after execution
Poor old Charles I.
He remains the only monarch in our country’s history to be beheaded by his own people.
But the king still has his supporters - even 371 years after his death.
Charles believed in the absolute power of the monarchy - and that, along with his marriage to the Roman Catholic Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France, set him on a collision course with Parliament which ultimately plunged the country into a three-year civil war.
He was executed on a scaffold outside the Palace of Whitehall on Tuesday, January 30, 1649.
His memory lives on, however. Each year on the Sunday nearest his death, the King’s Army, part of the English Civil War Society, formally parade along Whitehall - as they have for the past 48 years - following the route he took on the way to his execution.
David Pickett, former Maidstone councillor for Bridge Ward, joined the King’s Army in 1973 and, seven years later, became Colonel of the Lord Goring Regiment.
The enthusiasts, around 60 pikemen and 30 musketeers, would kit themselves out with breastplates and weapons as accurately as possible. He said: “There were many in the group who were skilled at sewing the right clothing or hammering out some armour.”
He said: “During the 70s and 80s, we would meet virtually every weekend. Nowadays the group just gets together four or five times a year to put on a show at some stately home or castle.”
Mr Pickett, 71, from Bower Street, Maidstone, no longer takes part in the parades, but he still goes to watch every year.
He said: “For us, it’s rather a solemn occasion remembering the king’s death - but the tourists just love it. There are no end of Japanese and Americans coming up to you afterwards wanting to chat and or get a photograph.”