\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 Charles I (1600-1649) was the second son of \b \cf4 \ATXht13131000 James
I\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 and became King of England, \b \cf4 \ATXht10150000 Scotland\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 and Ireland in 1625. He was a studious rather than an intelligent man, understanding books better than people. He chose the French princess Henrietta Maria
as his wife, and this act greatly upset the nation because the marriage articles permitted her the free exercise of the Catholic religion. Three parliaments were summoned and dissolved in the first four years of his reign. Then for eleven years he rule
d without one, until 1640 when a rebellious Scottish army marched into England and he was forced to call another Parliament. It was a tumultuous relationship that culminated in a proposal for the transfer of military command from the Crown to Parliament
and other measures that would have curtailed royal power. For Charles this was intolerable, and having alienated much of the realm, in 1642 he entered into the Civil War. The Royalists were eventually overcome and the King was captured and tried at We
stminster. His dignified refusal to plead was interpreted as a confession of guilt and he was beheaded at Whitehall on January 30, 1649.\par
