IN Worcester much is made of King Charles II and rightly so, for it was he who gave the city its English Civil War heritage through the Battle of Worcester in 1651, which brought a bloody end to nine years of internal strife. If local legends are to be believed, Charles II must have hidden in every other house and tree in the county as he fled the battlefield en route to France.

But what about his father King Charles I, the diminutive monarch who led the crown during the first part of the Civil War and whose execution has its 370th anniversary today? Charles I made several visits to Worcester, but without the fire and brimstone which accompanied his son.

Richard Shaw, chairman of the Battle of Worcester Society, said: “Charles I was a complex character. He had a stammer to his Scottish accent and at his coronation in 1626, at the age of 26, he was said to be only 4ft 8ins tall. He believed he had the divine right to rule and refused to allow Parliament to sit throughout the 1630s. After many years of dispute Charles finally left London and raised his standard in Nottingham and declared war on Parliament in 1642, thus starting the English Civil War. The Battle of Powick Bridge on September 23, 1642, when Charles I was leading the Royalists, was the first conflict of the war.

“We know that Charles I visited Worcester twice during the Civil War. The document Iter Carolinum (being a succinct relation of the necessitated marches, retreats and sufferings of his majesty Charles I, London 1660) places Charles at the Bishop's Palace in Deansway, Worcester for one night on June 15, 1644, having arrived from Bewdley and leaving the next day for Broadway.

“He was also at Worcester on August 3 - September 2, 1645 (shortly after his crushing defeat at Naseby, Northamptonshire on June 14, 1645) having arrived from Morton and departed to Bromyard. There is no indication of where he stayed for these three nights but it is most likely that he stayed at the Bishop's Palace again.”

After Charles' defeat at Naseby the Royalist cause deteriorated and Charles surrendered to the Scots in 1646 on the understanding he would sign the Covenant and amalgamate the Scottish and English religions. After months of failed negotiations Charles was put under house arrest by Parliament, but he escaped to the Isle of Wight in 1647. However he was soon recaptured, whereupon he agreed to discuss with Parliament his return to London as King and to co-operate with Parliament in running the country. Then secret letters were discovered which made it clear that Charles had no intention of co-operating with Parliament and was actively seeking to raise a Royalist army to continue the war.

Mr Shaw added: “His stubbornness gave Parliament the view there would never be an end to the Civil War while Charles was alive so he was charged with treason, alleging that he had declared war on his own people. He was tried in Westminster Hall, London from 20th to 27th January 1649. He refused to accept the validity of the court, but not surprisingly was convicted and sentenced to death by beheading. So although Charles was only a little chap, he was made considerably shorter on January 30, 1649!

“Having executed the king, for the first and only time in English history, Parliament abolished the monarchy, so whereas the eldest son would normally take the crown upon the death of the monarch, England became a Republic and Charles' eldest son, also named Charles - who was curiously 6ft 2ins - was just plain old Charlie Stuart hiding in France and Holland.

“As we know Charles Stuart was to return to Scotland in 1650 and raise an army to march on London to restore the monarchy, but he only got as far as Worcester where on September 3, 1651 he was defeated by Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary army in the last battle of the English Civil War.

“Charlie Stuart escaped to the continent, but after the death of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell in 1658, momentum grew to bring back the monarchy and in 1660 Charlie Stuart was to return as King Charles II. However, one of his first actions was to exhume the body of Oliver Cromwell and behead the skeleton as revenge for the death of his father.”

To this day a demonised head of Oliver Cromwell hangs pinned by its ears above the main entrance door to Worcester Guildhall. But it is unlikely to be modelled on the one chopped off by Charles II in memory of his dad.