The act abolishing the kingship was an
Act of the
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason.
"Rump" ...
that abolished the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
in England in the aftermath of the
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641†...
.
In the days following the
execution of Charles I
The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in E ...
on 30 January 1649, Parliament debated the form that any future government should take. On 7 February, Parliament voted down the idea of continuing the monarchy and the act to abolish the office of King was formally passed on 17 March.
On 8 May 1660, the
Convention Parliament proclaimed
Charles II to have been lawful king of England since his father's death, leading to the
restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
of the monarchy.
Notably, there is a lack of kingship in parliamentary records. This has caused some historians to speculate its lack of importance. On the other hand, Eric Porter, a lecturer of RMIT university speculates that this may have occurred due to vying interests at the time.
[Porter, Eric: A Cloak for Knavery: Kingship, the Army and the First Protectorate Parliament 1654-55 The Seventeenth Century (17:2) Oct 2002, 187-205. ]
References
External links
Full text of the Act
1649 in England
1649 in law
Acts of the Parliament of England
{{England-hist-stub