King Charles I

Civil War, execution, the abolition of the monarchy: Charles I's life and death marks the most dramatic period in the history of the British royal family.

But away from the momentuous events of Charles's reign, his rule is also key to the royal history of Greenwich. Keen patrons of the arts, Charles and his wife Henrietta Maria made the Queen’s House a well-known destination for masques. Henrietta Maria later became the last queen to live in the Queen’s House.

Find out more about the history of Charles I's reign and the reasons behind his execution.

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