Dan Snow's History Hit The Trial of Charles I
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Feb 23, 2026 Rebecca Warren, a 17th-century British history scholar at the University of Kent, walks through the arrest, trial setup and legal knots of trying a reigning monarch. She recounts the courtroom drama in Westminster Hall, the political role of the New Model Army, and the tense final days leading to the king's execution.
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Root Causes Of Charles I's Trial
- The trial emerged from a long political breakdown where Charles I ruled without Parliament and civil war followed.
- By 1648 Parliament and the army had split; the army pushed for accountability while many MPs still sought settlement.
How They Solved The Treason Paradox
- The legal problem was that treason is against the sovereign, yet the sovereign was the accused king.
- Parliament reframed sovereignty as belonging to the people, represented by MPs, enabling the charge of treason against Charles.
Westminster Hall And The Makeshift Court
- The court sat in Westminster Hall to borrow legal resonance from past treason trials like Sir Thomas More and Guy Fawkes.
- They appointed ~135 commissioners but used a low quorum (20), often seating only 50–60 during proceedings.