Sponsored by:

The Headless Royal

The Headless Royal: an Historian’s Perspective

By Dr. Carolyn F. Hoffman, Associate Professor of History, Prince George’s Community College

Just who is the headless royal depicted on the Maryland Archeology Month poster this year? Historical evidence strongly suggests it might be James I or Charles I, although Charles does seem the greater possibility. James I ruled England from 1603 to 1625. James I was the first English monarch to rule by “divine right of kings,” meaning that kings drew their authority from God, and therefore were responsible only to God, not to the people or Parliament. At his death, his son, Charles I became king of England. Charles also ruled by divine right and early in his reign managed to alienate Parliament. The English Civil War, partially brought on by quarrels between the king and Parliament over money and religion, cut Charles’s reign short and ended it in 1649.

The most compelling evidence that this might well be Charles I is the Sovereign’s Orb held in the figurine’s left hand. During the coronation ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury places the orb in the monarch’s right hand. It is then placed on a table. Later in the ceremony the monarch takes up the orb in his/her left hand and holds the Royal Scepter in the right. The orb symbolizes the monarch’s role as head of the Church of England, and only crowned monarchs would be depicted holding the orb. Paintings and sketches of both James I and Charles I depict an orb similar to the one shown in the poster. Interestingly, Oliver Cromwell had the coronation regalia destroyed after he came to power in 1649. During the Restoration, a new set of regalia, including the orb, had to be made for Charles II’s coronation in 1660, and the new orb has been used at every coronation since then. Historical photographs of Queen Elizabeth show a very different and much larger orb than the one depicted in the pre-Restoration period. It is heavily ornamented with jewels, and the cross, also jewel-encrusted, sits atop a large amethyst.

Another piece of evidence that indicates this might be Charles I is the figurine’s armor. The use of armor fell into decline during the course of the seventeenth century, and inspection of surviving armor at several historic sites strongly suggests that the armor worn by the figurine is from the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century. The tassets are the most interesting detail of the armor and the most useful in possibly identifying the royal in the poster. The tassets are those pieces that connect to the breastplate and hang down to protect the upper thighs. The tassets shown here are rather wide. They were designed to follow the fashion of the Elizabethan period, which included an emphasis on broad hips and the wide, padded breeches of the nobility. Several paintings and sketches of Charles I show him wearing armor similar to that worn by the figurine.

Who is the headless royal? We will probably never know; however, it is interesting to speculate and to attempt to draw conclusions based on the available evidence. One reason it is so tempting to suggest that this might indeed be Charles I is because of what ultimately happened to him. Oliver Cromwell and Parliament had Charles I beheaded in 1649.

To view a portrait of James I holding the Sovereign’s Orb during his coronation, click here. (click below the portrait for a larger image):

To view a portrait of Charles I with the orb on a table to his right, click here. (click on the image for a larger detail):

Sources:

Brugger, Robert J. Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634-1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1988.

Edwards, Graham. The Last Days of Charles I. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing
Limited, 1999.

Ollard, Richard. The Image of the King: Charles I and Charles II. New York: Atheneum,
1979.

Palmer, R. R., and Colton, Joel. A History of the Modern World. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1971.

Riordan, Timothy B. Plundering Time: Maryland and the English Civil War, 1645-1646.
Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 2004.

Smith, David L. A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603-1707. Malden, Mass.,
Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1998.

To learn more about James I and Charles I, visit these web sites:

http://www.answers.com

http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk

To learn more about the Sovereign’s Orb, visit these web sites:

http://www.hrp.org.uk

http://www.mandysroyalty.org/CrownJewels.html

http://www.waxmuseum.bc.ca/waxexhibitsjewels.asp

To learn more about sixteenth and seventeenth century armor, visit these web sites:

http://www.glasgowmuseums.com

http://www.metmuseum.org

http://www.myarmoury.com/albums