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King Charles I Stuart

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Monarch

The Resume

    (November 19, 1600-January 30, 1649)
    Son of King James I
    King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1625-1649)
    Executed by the Parliamentarians (1649)

Why he might be annoying:

    He married his Catholic wife Henrietta Maria when she was fifteen years old (1625).
    He dissolved Parliament three times in the first five years of his rule.
    He surrounded himself with terrible advisors.
    He supported foreign Catholic leaders (including King Louis XIII) when his country was overwhelmingly Protestant.
    When he responded to Protestant pressure and sent war ships to aid in the Huguenot rebellion in France, he changed his mind and supported King Louis XIII instead.
    He frequently asked for huge sums of tax money from Parliament for colonial expeditions.
    He once demanded a lump sum of £1 million in taxes from Parliament and was denied all but £150,000.
    He dissolved Parliament because they demanded that he fire one of his advisors.
    Since the Magna Carta only allowed for Parliament to collect taxes, he raised the money he needed by using the British Navy to loot Spanish treasure-ships.
    After this started a war with Spain, he re-instated Parliament and asked for money to fight this war, but all they did was bitch at him for starting it in the first place.
    He then dissolved Parliament a third time.
    He did not re-instate another Parliament for 11 years in what became known as the Eleven Years of Tyranny (1629-1640).
    He and his advisors argued those who did not support him were not true Christians because the monarchy was divinely selected.
    He imprisoned the harshest critics to his rule.
    During this time, he kept afloat financially by abusing numerous archaic rules that fined people for violating them.
    He used a feudal pre-invasion tax known as 'ship money' in peacetime to raise funds without Parliamentary approval (1634).
    After this worked the first time, he greedily asked for it again the very next year (1635).
    When the English people figured out he was going to ask for it every year from then on out, they started refusing to pay it, and he started imprisoning those who refused.
    He sold 'monopoly rights' to Catholic businessmen who made crappy, blister-inducing soap.
    He paid off the Scots in order to prevent them from marching into London.
    When he could no longer afford to pay them, he re-instated Parliament to help him raise the necessary funds.
    When the new Parliament tried limiting his powers, he ordered five members arrested and started the English Civil War (1642).
    His royalist forces were badly defeated and he was arrested for treason by the Parliamentarians (January 1, 1649).
    He arrogantly refused to defend himself during his trial believing no court had any right to judge him.
    Spectators soaked handkerchiefs in his blood after his execution, believing it would cure diseases.
    He was the first English King to be tried for treason.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Despite Protestant opposition, he gave his Catholic wife the children until they were 13.
    He was shy and reserved.
    His personal life was said to be without any blemish.
    He was well-read and intelligent.
    He loved dogs.
    He wore two shirts to make sure he did not shiver on the day of his execution.
    His trial was completely biased. All the members of the jury were either Puritans, Parliamentarians or members of the military.
    He almost was not executed because nobody wanted to be the one to do the deed.
    Eventually, his cowardly executors were paid £100 and wore masks so nobody knew who they were.
    He read a speech at his execution, but because the crowds were stationed so far away from him, very few people heard it.
    His successor Oliver Cromwell ended up getting rid of the Parliament anyway.
    His overthrow helped inspire American Revolution years later.
    He was resolute about his views to the very end.

Credit: Captain Howdy


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 73 Votes: 64.38% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 34 Votes: 32.35% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 126 Votes: 58.73% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 88.24% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 150 Votes: 42.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 87 Votes: 50.57% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 36 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 48 Votes: 52.08% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 29 Votes: 51.72% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 58.82% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 70 Votes: 75.71% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 70 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 31 Votes: 67.74% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 45 Votes: 71.11% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 106 Votes: 75.47% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 110 Votes: 61.82% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 65 Votes: 72.31% Annoying