Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Although Whitehall is now known for being the home of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, and countless government buildings, there is a royal execution site hidden in plain sight.
King Charles I, the second Stuart monarch of England, continually fought with Parliament throughout his reign. He married a Catholic princess, he dissolved Parliament altogether when MPs did not support his wishes, and his foreign wars became a drain on the treasury that would see support for his rule fall away.
After years of war between Royalists and Parliamentarians, Charles was put on trial in Westminster Hall on 20 January 1649. After just seven days, the king’s death sentence was announced.
On 30 January, Charles was walked across Hyde Park to Banqueting House, one of the buildings in the Palace of Whitehall. Banqueting House was designed by Inigo Jones in 1622 and is one of the first buildings in England built in the Palladian style.
Notably, the ceiling of Banqueting House features nine panels by artist Peter Paul Rubens celebrating Charles’s father’s reign, as well as the concept of the divine right of monarchs.
Wearing two shirts to guard against the cold, Charles was led out onto specially built scaffolding outside the first floor windows where crowds were waiting. He was executed by axe, with only one blow needed.
Banqueting House is the only remaining element of the Palace of Whitehall after a seventeenth century fire destroyed the majority of the palace.