The Protestant Reformation
On October 31, 1517, the Protestant Reformation would begin when a German monk published the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences. It would call out the Catholic church for its excesses. It also taught that every individual can speak directly to God. The Catholic church had been the only organized Christian church in the world at that time. It had reached such power that its leader, the Pope, was more powerful than Kings and Queens. They would not allow a rupture to that power by a lowly monk easily. It would lead to a bloody war between the two Christian sects
Europe would get divided between followers of Martin Luther, called Protestants, and Catholics. Most major world wars were due to this division that lasted hundreds of years. It even took part in the American Revolution with the Catholic French siding with the United States as a way of defeating Protestant England. Many in United States are not aware of how religion played into the France’s decision to join on the side of the U.S during the war. It is the ole saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The Catholic wife
That backdrop brings us to the reign of King Charles I, who reigned from 1625-1649. He was not the best leader for England. He grew up wealthy and secluded, so he did not work well with others. However, that was not his biggest issue. He had a Catholic wife, which was close to blasphemy in the eyes of many English citizens.
Her name was Henrietta Maria, who was born in Catholic France. She would marry him in 1625, the same year he would begin his reign. At that time, the English and Scottish, the latter sharing the crown with England, felt that Catholics were the same as divil worshippers. The Catholics felt the same about Protestants. Ever since King Henry VIII separated from the Catholic church so he could divorce his wife in 1534, England had become a Protestant country and despised Catholicism. Henrietta was not allowed to receive a coronation due to her Catholicism, so she was never officially coronated as Queen of England.
Side note: The state of Maryland, which was a Catholic colony, was named after Maria. It is named Maryland after her her last name Maria.
English Civil War
Due to suspected Catholic sympathies of King Charles I, the British parliament decided to get more influence over the King and his policies. They would not allow him things past Kings were automatically granted, such as collection custom duties, which were a way from the monarch to raise personal funds for his/her rule. That, along with his aloof personality, led to a breakdown between King Charles I and parliament. A civil war would break out.
King Charles I would try and force Scotland to swear allegiance to him during the war. The Scottish have always had a history of strong Protestant roots. Presbyterianism came to symbolize the anti-Catholic Scottish sect that rebelled against British authority, who the Scots felt had a church too similar to England. It would later be the Scottish who would become a major force during the American Revolution due to their disdain for British rules and regulations.
The war would last years and culminate with the capture, trial, and beheading of King Charles I. That would lead to 11 years of military authority in England led by Oliver Cromwell. There would be a lot of mismanagement during those years, which caused English citizens to want the monarch returned. King Charles I son, King Charles II, would take the throne.
His reign started off with economic advancements in England, but he would spend most of his reign getting revenge of those that beheaded his father. He would have them hunted down and most of them killed. His reign in still controversial in England to this day.
So, when King Charles III took the throne from his mother, Queen Elizabeth, I found myself asking, why was he chosen that name? That name is steeped in such controversy in British history, I wondered if there is hidden meaning the current Royal Family are trying to project by choosing that name. For almost 300 years, no monarch has been named Charles since the death of King Charles II in 1685.
I find it interesting and would love to discuss it with a British Historian. Any ideas of who I could talk to?
