King Charles I

King Charles I

A martyred king

The Civil Wars cast a long shadow and the execution – for many, martyrdom – of Charles I in 1649 was, in particular, seen as a momentous event. A cult grew up commemorating Charles the Martyr. Here at Queen’s College, the building of a new library between 1692 and 1695 provided an opportunity to celebrate Charles and his consort, Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-69). Their statues, by John Vanderstein (fl. 1678-1700), joined those of the founder and other benefactors to the College. In this way, Queen’s demonstrated its loyalty to the monarchy and the religious regime over which it presided.

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Museum of Oxford

Photo credit: The Queen's College, University of Oxford/ Art UK, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

A stone statue of a man in a stone niche. He wears a lace collar and a jewelled chain, and his hand rests on the pommel of a sword.