The reign of Charles I witnessed some of the most dramatic and controversial developments in the course of English history including a full-scale civil war and the trial and public execution of a monarch by his subjects. Since then Charles has been variously regarded as a tragic martyr and as an evil tyrant who attempted to destroy the liberties of the English people. This book reconsiders the personality of Charles and the effects of his decisions as ruler. It questions the responsibility Charles should bear for the disasters of his reign and examines contemporary and modern portrayals of Charles's reign, the king's military leadership, the context and prelude to his execution, and his status as a martyr king in the 1650s and beyond.