Charles I's reign was marked by a growing tension with Parliament. Unlike his father, who had occasionally worked with Parliament, Charles believed firmly in the divine right of kings—the idea that the monarch was answerable only to God, not to any earthly authority. This belief led him to adopt a more autocratic approach to governance, which included ruling without Parliament for 11 years, from 1629 to 1640.

In the early years of his reign, Charles faced a financial crisis. England was involved in costly foreign wars, particularly with Spain and France. To fund these wars, Charles levied unpopular taxes and fines, which were met with growing resistance. The most famous of these was the forced loan, which compelled wealthy subjects to lend the crown money under threat of imprisonment. Many English citizens resisted this, and the situation led to the calling of the Short Parliament in 1640.

The Bishops' Wars and the Long Parliament

Charles’s attempts to govern without Parliament faced increasing difficulties. The king's support for the Church of England's high church (Arminian) practices alienated many Puritans and other Protestant factions in England. This religious divide was compounded by Charles’s attempts to impose a new prayer book on Scotland, which led to the outbreak of the Bishops' Wars in 1639 and 1640. The wars, which were a response to the Scottish Presbyterian resistance to the king’s religious policies, were disastrous for Charles. He was forced to summon the Long Parliament in 1640 to secure funds for the war effort. This was a critical turning point in his reign, as it marked the beginning of direct conflict between the king and Parliament.

The English Civil War

The tensions between Charles I and Parliament culminated in the English Civil War (1642–1651). The war was primarily a struggle for control of England’s government, pitting the king and his Royalist supporters against the Parliamentarians, who were led by figures such as Oliver Cromwell. At the heart of the conflict were issues of governance, religion, and the role of the monarchy.

Charles's belief in the divine right of kings and his insistence on absolute monarchy were directly opposed by the growing parliamentary factions that sought to limit the king’s power. Religious conflicts also played a role, as the Parliamentarians, particularly the Puritans, sought to reform the Church of England, while Charles remained a staunch defender of its traditional practices.

The war was fought in several phases, with the Royalists initially gaining some successes. However, the Parliamentarians, particularly the New Model Army under Cromwell, proved to be a formidable force. In 1646, Charles I was defeated and forced to surrender to the Scots. The Scots handed him over to the English Parliament, which set in motion the series of events leading to his downfall. shutdown123