Charles I was the only English monarch to be tried and executed, and this volume examines the resulting crisis in the representation of the monarchy. It addresses not only the period of mid-century crisis but also the earlier years of Charles's reign and the afterlife of his royal image.

This volume deals with the crisis in the representation of the monarchy that was provoked by the execution of Charles I. It looks at both sympathetic and hostile representations of Charles I and addresses not only the period of mid-century crisis but also the earlier years of his reign and the afterlife of his royal image. Besides courtly and popular literary representations, it examines Charles's visual image in paintings, sculpture, engravings and coins and considers the role of the King's Music in projecting a positive view of the monarch. The volume will appeal not only to literary scholars but also to historians, art historians and musicologists.