Today (March 27 2025) marks the 400th anniversary of the death of James VI and I and series of commemorative events are taking place throughout the year. Just as 1625 marked the end of one reign, it was also the start of a new reign with Charles I, arguably one of the worst and controversial monarchs in the history of these islands.

Almost 14 years later, on January 30, 1649, Charles, deemed to be a "man of blood" who had caused the English Civil War, was beheaded as King of England at Whitehall. England became a republic, the House of Lords was abolished, Scotland and Ireland were conquered by Oliver Cromwell and were incorporated into the English Commonwealth and Protectorate. England itself became a military dictatorship in the 1650s. The Stuart monarch was restored in 1660, but the bloody civil wars of the........

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