Why was Charles 1 executed?
A lot of these answers talk about treason and parliament. Neither had anything to do with it. Charles was executed because Cromwell wanted him dead. Cromwell knew that he could only have real power if the King was removed. True Charles could not be trusted, but don’t forget Charles believed it was his God-given right to rule. This was what made Charles so stubborn, so arrogant. If he were wrong, then so too was God, and that simply cannot be. But Cromwell was consumed by his own need rule himself. He bullied the other members of his fractured Parliament to sign the death warrant. The only one who didn’t was Thomas Fairfax. Why? Because he believed it was a step too far. And he could not be bullied because he was the only man whom the army loved more than Cromwell! Charles did not commit treason. How could he? Was he fighting against himself? This is an unjust argument, perpetrated by Cromwell, thinly veiled as legal. But how legal was it to prevent Charles from conducting his own defen
