Printing the Regicide of Charles I

The execution of Charles I by the English republic on 30 January 1649 was the most unpopular political act of the seventeenth century. Yet within three weeks of Charles's death the leaders of the new government were ‘cheerful and well pleased’. This article explores one of the key reasons for their good mood: they had just managed a polemical triumph. In the weeks following the regicide, parliament and its supporters had justified the king's execution with a wide array of printed documents. Further, various government agents severely hampered the republic's opponents from printing their own missives, thereby creating a fairly clear space for the pro‐regicide press. Although the long‐term impact may have been limited, there can be little doubt that the English republic and its proponents asserted a potent case for regicide in early February 1649.