Heath, Richard Killing Monarchs

Regicide in the Tudor and Stuart Age

Rulers (and prospective rulers) have always faced the possibility of a violent death. Between the 7th and 18th centuries, over 20% of all British and European monarchs met such a fate. Some died in battle or in accidents, but most were murdered or executed. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, some monarchs fell victim to lone assassins, others were killed in palace coups led by relatives or royal officials, and still others after defeat in civil war. Their deaths included public beheadings, internal injuries from knife attacks, hacking to death by a group of nobles, and ritual strangulation with a silk cord. Killing Monarchs takes us on a journey through Europe. Starting in England and Scotland (Lady Jane Grey and Mary Stuart), it continues to France (King Henry III and Henry IV) and then further east to Russia (Tsar Fyodor II and various pretenders to the throne) and the Ottoman Empire (Sultans Osman II and Ibrahim I). It then returns to Great Britain to examine why Charles I was executed. The book provides a clear picture of the various forces at work in society at the time, reflected in the motives of the regicides even if many of them did not reveal these motives. The lust for power, the desire for a more effective ruler, religious differences and, occasionally, the desire to abolish the monarchy altogether played a significant role.