‘Please don’t get like Charles,’ I said, ‘whoring and fornication is all he ever thinks about. But it is definitely not you.’
***
Louis was with one of the coaches waiting on the quay as I stepped off the ship… without asking I jumped up beside him.
‘Good to see you safe and well my friend,’ he said as he handed me a blanket and slapped me on the back. ‘How was your holiday?’
‘I loved it in Jersey. But believe me Louis it was no holiday. I have been beaten-up, kidnapped, and almost drowned.’
‘Trouble seems to follow you around my friend. Tell me more.’
‘I will tell you the whole story later… but what I will tell you now is that I know the name of my adversary, he is called Richard Leeson and was a captain in the guards.’
‘Was? Does that mean he is dead?’
‘Unfortunately not. Thomas Hudson thinks he escaped to France and then probably from there made his way to England.’
I shivered as I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, not just from the freezing weather but also at the thought of what I had gone through while in Jersey.
Louis must have noticed and offered me another blanket.
The carriages quickly filled up and the convoy began the journey back to the palace.
As we passed through the iron gates, and I caught my first sight of the palace in the distance along the tree-lined driveway, I had a wonderful feeling of wellbeing and security. Noordeinde was the place I felt most at ease, and the place I felt truly safe and happy.
Despite the bitter cold, there was a host of servants all wrapped up in heavy coats and woollen bonnets waiting to welcome us back, and attend to our luggage and horses.
I was looking for Anne but I couldn’t see her.
Louis looked sideways at me and smiled.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘Nothing in particular,’ he said smiling at me. ‘She is waiting for you in the summerhouse.’
I ran the whole way, the frost crunching beneath my feet as I hurried to meet her. The door of the summerhouse was shut and for a brief moment I thought she was not there. I stepped inside and Anne threw her arms around my neck and started to sob on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist which seemed to be the natural thing to do, I then waited while she settled down and spoke to me.
Being so close and feeling the warmth of her body next to mine stirred in me an exciting emotion that was unfamiliar to me.
‘What are you crying for, have you missed me?’
‘More than I can say and I am crying because I am unhappy.’
‘Can I help?’
‘No one can help. My father has found a husband for me, I am betrothed to the son of a French Count.’
‘So that was why he was taking you to France, but surely that’s good isn’t it?’
‘No it is not, my intended looks like a donkey but is not as intelligent… what are my poor children going to look like? They will probably be ugly and retarded.’
‘When is the marriage going to take place?’
‘When I am fifteen.’
‘You’re not yet eleven so your father has over four years to change his mind. What does Princess Mary have to say about the marriage? Perhaps she can help.’
‘I have already asked her and she says she won’t interfere with the decision of my father.’
She pulled away from me and I was able to take a proper look at her.
She no longer had ringlets, her hair was longer and hanging loose across her shoulders, she was wearing a scarf and gloves to protect herself from the cold and a matching woolly hat pulled down over her ears. But what troubled me the most was the tears on her cheeks and a sadness in her eyes… I kissed her gently on the lips as one would a small child, but this kiss felt a whole lot different than kissing a child. It was the first time I had ever kissed a girl properly and I wanted to kiss her again but felt embarrassed and shy so instead I took hold of her hand and guided her to a settee.
She then surprised me by saying, ‘It’s you I want to marry Toby, not some idiot Frenchman.’
‘But we’re too young and you know that your father would never allow it.’
‘Don’t you like me Toby? I would want to die if you said you didn’t like me.’
‘Of course I do, you are the only girlfriend I have… the only one I have ever had.’
‘Would you marry me if you could?’
‘Ask me again when we’re fifteen. No don’t. I will ask you.’
‘But I may be married to the idiot Frenchman by then.’
‘A lot can happen in four years, I may not even be here,’ I said.
‘Where will you go?’
‘I don’t know for sure, but I think Prince Charles will want to visit his mother in Paris, and there is also talk of him going to Scotland.’
‘Will you go with them?’
‘Where Charles goes Thomas Hudson goes, and where he goes I go too.’
‘Do you think it will be soon?’
‘It all depends on the outcome of the King’s trial in London. But whatever the result, I think it will be sooner rather than later. So for now just let me be your boyfriend.’
She smiled for the first time and nodded. I tied her scarf closely around her neck and pulled her woolly hat lower over her ears and we then walked slowly back through the frost, hand in hand to the palace.
Execution of the King
Life was not easy for Oliver Cromwell, mainly because so many of his own Members of Parliament were passionately against the trial of the King taking place at all, believing that not only was it immoral but also unlawful.
Cromwell had many problems to deal with but he never lost control, he had made up his mind that the King must die and was prepared to go to any lengths to see his wishes carried out.
In December he ordered Colonel Thomas Pride, one of his most trusted commanders, to use his regiment of soldiers to prevent all the rebels from entering parliament, and to allow only those who supported the trial of the King to go through.
After much forceful and often disorderly negotiating, an agreement was reached with his closest allies that the King must die.
The trial began on schedule without the dissenters on the 20th January at Westminster Hall. 135 Judges were appointed but on the day of the trial only 68 arrived.
Undeterred and determined not to be thwarted, Cromwell appointed John Bradshaw to act as Chief Judge. He had little choice as Bradshaw was the only one of the 68 willing to take on the job.
Bradshaw was no fool and knew that putting the King on trial was an extremely unpopular decision which made him a prime target for the Royalists. It was rumoured that he feared so much for his life that he had a special metal hat made to protect himself from attack. Nevertheless, he accepted the responsibility, perhaps for the extravagant purse, or perhaps to boost his already over-inflated ego.
On the day of the trial Westminster Hall was full to bursting, but not with Members of Parliament, it was full of Colonel Pride’s soldiers who were there on the orders of Cromwell to protect the judges and also to frustrate any attempt to free the King.
No members of the public were allowed into the hall until after the charge had been read out, but many prominent MPs asked, ‘Why would Cromwell go to such lengths if he was so sure the case against the King was sound?’
John Bradshaw, Chief Judge and President of the High Court, was a lawyer with many years’ experience, and yet he was unsure just how to proceed. This was a unique trial unlike any other and one not likely to ever be repeated.
Following an embarrassingly long pause he stood and read from his own notes: ‘It is the judgment of this court that out of a wicked design to erect and uphold in yourself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to your will, and to overthrow the rights a
nd liberties of the people of England, that you stand trial as a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer and enemy to the commonwealth of England.’
‘How do you plead?’
The King refused to answer the question but replied, ‘I would know by what lawful power I am called here? For it is I who stand for the rule of law in this land… not the power of the sword.’
Bradshaw banged his fist on the stand and shouted, ‘It is by the authority of the people that you stand trial. Now please remove your hat, and name your defence lawyer.’
‘I do not require a defence lawyer for I do not recognise this court. And my hat will remain firmly on my head.’
The result of the trial was never in doubt, all 68 judges finding Charles guilty.
King Charles had been dealt a bad hand, and had played it badly by constantly miscalculating the opposition’s resolve. He had gambled and lost and there was nothing more he could do. If he had to die… he would die with self-respect, with dignity, with his head held high.
Bradshaw stood and waited until the hall was completely quiet before delivering the verdict: ‘It is the judgment of this court that you, Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy to the good of this nation, shall be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.’
It was only after the judgment of the court had been announced that Charles finally spoke to defend himself, but Bradshaw declared that his chance to address the court had passed.
The King of England was then unceremoniously bundled out of the court by the soldiers chosen to protect and keep him safe, until the day chosen for his public execution.
Tuesday 30th January, 1649, was the chosen date. It was a bitterly cold morning and King Charles woke shivering. He asked his jailers for an extra shirt, determined to go to his death with dignity and pride, not shivering like a coward.
He was allowed to go for a last walk in St James’s Park with his pet dog, and eat his last meal. He chose just bread and wine.
Scaffolding had been hastily erected outside the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall. When the King was led out to the platform, there were shouts of rage and anger from the large crowd that had gathered to witness this most horrible act of murder of their much-loved monarch.
The head was severed with a single blow and the screams of anguish could be heard across the river and beyond. Some women were groaning with grief and others just sobbing quietly to themselves.
One observer when later describing the scene said, ‘Such a groan by the thousands there present, as I never heard before, and desire I may never hear again.’
Even in death, there was no dignity for the King. Spectators were invited to go up to the scaffold and for a penny, allowed to dip a handkerchief in his blood as it was felt that the blood of a king was a cure for all ailments and disease.
Charles’s head was sewn back onto the body and the coffin moved to Windsor where it was laid to rest in a place originally reserved for Catherine Parr, next to his great-great-uncle, Henry VIII.
A week later on the 6th February, the monarchy was formally abolished, and on the 7th the House of Commons rushed through an act forbidding any person to proclaim another as monarch.
What became known as a Council of State was set up to replace the monarchy, with Oliver Cromwell its first chairman.
His first words to the council were: ‘The office of king in this nation is unnecessary. It is a danger to liberty, to society and to the interest of the people.’
***
Prince Charles received the news he had hoped would never come. Despite his plea for leniency for his father, he had been executed.
The eighteen-year-old prince received the news of his father’s death while in the drawing room at Noordeinde Palace, where he was the guest of Prince William of Orange and his sister Princess Mary.
He was sitting holding Mary’s hands as the courier read out the dispatch proclaiming that the King had been executed by the severing of the head.
This was the first and only time I ever saw Prince Charles cry.
William wrapped his arms around Mary in an effort to comfort his wife as she sobbed quietly on his shoulder. But there was no amount of comfort that could relieve the pain in her heart, and the anger at the injustice committed against her beloved father.
Charles was leaning forward, sobbing into his hands. His brother James and their younger sister Henrietta Anne were still with their mother in France.
Charles was now king in exile, and his first thoughts were for his family in Paris… especially his mother, now the dowager queen.
I observed this depressing scene from a discreet distance. King Charles II at eighteen years of age had forced upon him the responsibility of ruling in exile, a duty that would have broken a lesser man, but with Thomas Hudson by his side, I knew he would prevail.
***
‘Toby I must go to Paris with Charles. His mother needs him more than ever just now and he needs me,’ Thomas announced. ‘I don’t think you need to come with us this time. I’m sure you will be safe here on your own for a while, I know you will have no problem filling your time and you will still have your studies.’
I was faced with a difficult decision. If I decided to stay it would be because of Anne and Louis, and I knew deep down that my loyalties should be with my Lord King Charles II.
‘I think I should come with you Thomas.’
‘Then sort out what you need and leave the rest of your stuff in your room.’
‘We will be coming back here then?’
‘Eventually… because our ships are all here, so how else would we get back to England? But I know not when. Charles is now the king, his people love him and most Members of Parliament too. They all want him back… but it will not happen while Oliver Cromwell rules the country.’
‘When we do go back, will it be to London?’
‘Probably Scotland. Alexander Leslie, the Scottish commander, is still holding a line north of the Forth, so that is probably where we will be going. The question is… what will it take to persuade the Scots to raise arms against Cromwell again? Their record against him in the past is wretched. What terms are they likely to demand to risk another conflict with their nemesis?’
***
We travelled to the dowager queen’s castle on the outskirts of Paris using the same route as before, stopping overnight in Brussels and Reims, and arriving at the Castle of Doves on the third day.
I kept a low profile thinking that this was a very private bereavement, and that I should not really be there at all; nobody needs me and I felt in the way. God I wish I had stayed at Noordeinde. But I was here now and here I would be staying until Thomas decided otherwise.
Thankfully we were there only for a few days. The now King Charles II was just as anxious to return to The Hague as I was. His courtesan Lucy Walter was in the final stages of her confinement and he wanted to be with her when their child arrived.
***
It was a month now since our return to Noordeinde, and in that time I had seen very little of King Charles.
So when Thomas told me that he needed to see me on a matter of some urgency, I could not help but worry.
‘What does he want of me?’
‘It is for the King himself to tell you of his plans, not I.’
‘When… when does he want to see me?’
‘He is due back from Breda later today, so don’t be disappearing off with your friends. I don’t want to waste my time looking for you, and don’t worry about the meeting… I will be with you when you see him.’
‘If I am not here you will find me either in the stables or the summerhouse.’
I was not really worried about meeting the King, more apprehensive. So I stayed in the palace library and sat by the window so that I would see him arrive.
I watched him trot up the driveway with
a couple of his knights, and enter the building through the front door, leaving their horses to be taken away by the grooms.
I saw him arrive, but that was over an hour ago, and I was beginning to think the meeting had been called off when Thomas found me. ‘Follow me Toby, he is in the gallery.’
‘Sit down Toby and don’t look so worried,’ said Charles.
But I was, I was worried, wondering just what the King of England could possibly want of me.
Sitting facing me he began, ‘Firstly I must tell you that I have taken a house in Breda. I can no longer expect my sister and her husband to continue accommodating me and my entourage… you will of course be coming with us. Sometime within the next few months I plan to join my supporters in Scotland and mount an assault on Cromwell from the North. I have not yet worked out a strategy, but whatever it is, I don’t think you should be part of it.’
I opened my mouth to protest but he stopped me with a wave of his hand.
‘I have no regrets at bringing you into my household, you are a credit to Thomas and to yourself. But I made a promise to Madam Veronica to keep you safe, and if I were to take you into a war zone I would be breaking that promise. You can stay with me in Breda until we sail for Scotland but when we do, I intend to put you ashore somewhere on the Kent coast. You will be provided with a horse and an escort back to London.’
‘No… no I won’t go, how can you even think it? And in any case I would be in more danger in London now that Richard Leeson is there.’
It suddenly occurred to me that speaking to a monarch in that way could be regarded as treason, but I was so distressed, I just didn’t care.
Thomas looked at me, and then at the King.
‘He’s right of course, we could be throwing him to the wolves.’
Completely ignoring me, and speaking directly to Thomas, Charles asked, ‘What do you suggest?’
‘Perhaps we should take him with us. But if we do, he is going to need some proper weapon training.’
‘Paul Cullum is the best man for that job.’
‘I agree, he is one of your most trusted knights and a formidable soldier.’
Courtier in the Royal House of Stuart Page 11
