Time Travel Back To 17th Century London - With This Royalist Reenactment Along The Mall

By Will Noble

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Will Noble Time Travel Back To 17th Century London - With This Royalist Reenactment Along The Mall

the King's Army parade down the Mall in funeral costume — This is the 52nd time that The King's Army commemorate the execution of Charles I.

30 January marks a grim date in the annals of London history.

On this day in 1649, King Charles I was led from St James's Palace to Banqueting House on Whitehall, in front of which he was beheaded, thus drawing a gory line under the English Civil War.

Grinning 17th Century soldiers on the Mall — Some of the proclamations of loyalty to Charles may sound strange, seeing as we have a King Charles again.

For the past half century, The King's Army — a royalist branch of the English Civil War Society — has commemorated what they call "His Majestie's horrid murder", and on Sunday 28 January 2024, they return for their 52nd parade.

A parade of reenactors - with Horseguards and the London Eye in the background — Wherever your own monarchist loyalties lie, this is a chance to experience a touch of time travel in central London.

The full-costumed march — think dozens of volunteers in royalist costumes, mounted troops and weapons — traces the short final journey of the King, as he was escorted to the scaffold.

a 17th century print showing the execution of the kind on a platform outside banqueting house, surrounded by onlookers — A (somewhat gruesome) contemporary German print of the execution of Charles I outside Banqueting House. Image: public domain.

The reenactment group forms near St James's Palace, on the Mall in period funeral dress at around 11.15am. Then, at 11.30am, they proceed to Horse Guard's Parade for a commemorative service, in which a wreath is laid at Banqueting House. (It's a well-known, if disputed, piece of London trivia that a black mark at 2pm on the clock above Horse Guards signifies the the time that the axe fell on Charles' neck.)

A mother and child in 17th century dress — The procession isn't just soldiers, either.

Next, the army — now changed into battle dress — retrace the route back to St James's Palace, beating drums, flying the King's colours and proclaiming their loyalty to him. (This may all sound a little strange in 2024, given that we once again have a King Charles.)

A group of royalists in 17th century costumes raise their pikes in central London — On 28 January, central London time travels back to 1649.

Wherever your own monarchist loyalties lie, this is a chance to experience a touch of time travel in central London — and it's free, too. If you really are a dyed in the wool republican, you can always feast on a calve's head [sic] instead.

March in Commemoration of Charles I, starts on the Mall around 11am, Sunday 28 January 2024. It's free, just turn up.

Last Updated 05 January 2024

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