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Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosity's, A Production of IHeart Radio and Grim and Mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

It had been a tumultuous decade in England. For generations, the Stuart monarchs had reigned over England, claiming a divine right to rule the nation. Their authority came straight from God

himself, and thus should not be questioned.

Parliament at the time had become increasingly Puritan, and so when King Charles I married the French Catholic Henrietta Maria and his support of an Anglican high church was redoubled,

they worried about a backslide into Roman Catholicism.

Tensions between the Crown and the Parliament grew until 1642 when the King tried to arrest

five members of the House of Commons, widely considered an assault on its constitutional

privilege. Negotiations between parties fell apart, and on August 22nd of 1642, Charles declared war on Parliament.

The civil war that erupted as a result would last for two whole years and exposed the

deep divides in politics and religion that had long been simmering in England.

In the end, the Royalist Army was defeated and Charles was captured by Parliament's

forces. In victory, Parliament faced a massive dilemma. What exactly do we do with the king?

Debate raged on for months before a grim decision was finally made. On January 30th of 1649,

Charles I was brought to London Bridge, where, in front of a crowd

of his former subjects, London's official executioner Richard Brandon ended the king's life with

an axe's blow.

The head was displayed on a spike, to deter any royalists from further action.

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