Sunday Feature

Professor Justin Champion, who has been fascinated by the trial of Charles I ever since he was a teenager, pieces together new research which re-examines the archives surrounding this most important of events in English history - the only time when a British King has been publicly beheaded. Meeting leading historians along the way, Justin goes back to crucial archives and documents which show that right up until the last moment, Charles' death was not a foregone conclusion, with the records showing that this was no show trial. In fact there were many rival schemes for resolving the problem of Charles I's tyranny: some wanted abdication, some wanted regency and only a few extremists considered the death of the King as an option. Killing the King was in fact the least likely outcome of the process.