History Fun Facts November 19th

HISTORICAL FUN FACTS for NOVEMBER 19th

On This Day In History, 1600, King Charles I of England was born.

Charles was the second son of King James VI of Scotland, who was soon to get an upgrade and become King James I of England.

The eldest son of King James-The-Sixth-Soon-To-Be-First was Henry Frederick, the Prince of Wales. When Henry Frederick died in 1612, Charles became the Heir Apparent and the new Prince of Wales.

Charles spent his first few years in Scotland. Even when his father became King of England, Charles remained in Scotland as he was quite a sickly child. And rather annoying. His father couldn't stand the winging little git and left for England without him.

Charles wasn't seen as worthy until he could walk the length of the Great Hall at Dunfermline Palace with help, and scoff down a whole haggis without throwing up.

Just before the age of four, Charles achieved both and was immediately sent to join his family in London.

However, the interesting stuff happened later.

Charles-The-First-King-Of-England-To-Be-Tried-And-Executed, had his head separated from his shoulders by way of a really sharp axe in January, 1649.

On the 18th June 1633, Charles I was crowned King of Scotland in Edinburgh.

He had been king of England since 1625 and king of Scotland since that date, too. However, keen to avoid travelling back to Scotland, he waited 8 years to be crowned.

Charles struggled with some personal issues just before his reign as king ended. The main issue, which was rather personal, was his head being separated from his body.

He had fought a civil war with Parliament during the 1640s. There was a lot of back and forth, until King Charles was finally defeated and captured by Oliver Cromwell's army.

After losing the English Civil war, King Charles-Not-A-Spaniel was imprisoned and tried for treason, and for kicking a sick puppy when he was a kid.

Little did the King know, that his days were numbered when the trial started.

 

In fact, the king always believed he would be found innocent of all crimes, including puppy-kicking. He couldn't imagine, along with most of the country, that Parliament would not only find him guilty, but they'd also give him the death sentence.

 

The sentencing was driven by Oliver Cromwell, who hated the king and the monarchy. And puppies. He kicked more than a few in his time. But he had to be seen as a man of the people. So he switched to kicking kittens instead.

 

Most people break down before they are executed. They cry, they scream, they beg for their life.

 

Not Charles-Needed-A-Different-Lawyer. The King asked to wear two shirts. The weather was biting cold, and he didn't want it to cause him to shiver. If the crowds observed him shivering, they might mistake it for fear.

 

An eyewitness to the execution was interviewed for the BBC News channel afterwards. "We all gasped, we did. They keel'd te king. T'was terrible. An awful thing. But fun."

 

The eyewitness continued: "They showed his head. Lifted it right up, they did. Dripped blood all over. So we dipped our handkerchiefs in it."

 

The spectators wanted a souvenir of the day. And those who were close enough, dipped their handkerchiefs into the pools of blood dripping on the floor as the King's head was raised and shown to the crowds.

 

The eyewitness concluded: "That Oliver Cromwell, the one who beat the king, and killed him proper, he did. He watched and smiled. Real pleased with himself, he was. Right proud to kill a king. Watta-git."

Also On This Day In History

On this day in 1831 James A Garfield was born.

James A Garfield was the 20th President of the United States of America between March 4th, 1881, and September 19th, 1881.

He was later assassinated by a bloke in a dress. READ MORE ABOUT GARFIELD'S ASSASSINATION.

Plus, on November 19th in 1816 Warsaw University was established.

And on this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address in Pennsylvania.