The "Wellington Declaration" (otherwise known as the Declaration of Wellington) was a manifesto by King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

near the start of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. On 18 September 1642, before the first major

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

of Civil War, King Charles I raised his standard "in the vicinity of" (i.e. not actually in)

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, at the time a small, though highly influential, market town in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and addressed his troops the next day. He declared that he would uphold "the Protestant Religion, the Laws of England, and the Liberty of Parliament". The ''Wellington Declaration'' was held to be so important that the Royal Mint stamped its slogans on the reverse of the 10/- silver coins ''RELIG:PROT:LEG:ANG:LIBER:PAR'' and silver half crowns (2/6) ''REL.PRO.LEG.ANG.LIB.PAR'' that it produced at that time. The inscriptions abbreviate the words "''RELIGIO PROTESTANTIUM, LEGES ANGLIAE, LIBERTAS PARLIAMENTI''", which is the declaration in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

.p. 134
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References

Further reading