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Primary sourcePainting1649

Trial of King Charles I in Westminster Hall

Popular Graphic Arts · 1649

A print made close to the events showing the 1649 trial of King Charles I in Westminster Hall.

Depicts the trial that led to Charles I's execution, showing him facing his judges in Westminster Hall.

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Black and white engraved print of the 1649 trial of King Charles I in Westminster Hall. A man in a wide-brimmed hat stands center-left pointing with a baton toward seated judges in dark robes at a draped table. Armed guards stand at left, and galleries of spectators fill the upper and right sides of the hall beneath a large window and coat of arms.
Trial of King Charles I in Westminster Hall, 1649 print.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white engraved print depicts the 1649 trial of King Charles I held in Westminster Hall. It shows a man pointing with a baton toward seated judges at a draped table, armed guards, and crowded galleries of spectators.

Why it matters

The trial of Charles I was a landmark and shocking event: a king put on trial by his own subjects, ending in his execution. Images like this one helped spread knowledge of the trial and shaped public memory of this extraordinary break with tradition.

Look closer

  • What does the composition of the print—where the figures are placed—suggest about who held power in that room?
  • Why might crowds of spectators have been included in the scene?
  • What can't a single printed image tell us about what was actually said and argued during the trial?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charles I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Photograph of a parchment document with handwritten text in brown ink, a column of signatures on the lower half, and rows of red wax seals hanging down the signature area. The text begins 'Whereas Charles Stewart'. The parchment lies on a grey background.Document

Primary source

Death Warrant of King Charles I

High Court of Justice commissioners · 29 January 1649

Title page of a 1649 printed pamphlet, 'King Charls his Speech made upon the Scaffold at Whitehall-Gate', printed by Peter Cole in London. A library stamp from the Royal Irish Academy overlays the text. Decorative floral borders frame the page.Speech

Primary source

King Charles his Speech made upon the Scaffold at Whitehall-Gate

Charles I · 30 January 1649

Title page of Eikon Basilike, 1648 reprint. Greek heading 'Eikon Basilike' above English title 'The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings', with Romans 8 'More then Conquerour, &c.', a Latin motto 'Bona agere, & mala pati, Regium est', and 'Reprinted In R.M. Anno Dom. 1648'.Book

Secondary source

Eikon Basilike

Attributed to Charles I (possibly John Gauden) · 1649

Scan of the handwritten Petition of Right manuscript on aged parchment. Ornate decorated initial letters begin with the words 'To the King's most Excellent Majestie' at top. Dense brown ink script fills most of the page, with a larger decorated 'H' initial starting the lower paragraph.Document

Primary source

Petition of Right

Edward Coke (drafting committee) · 7 June 1628

Scanned title page of 'A Perfect Narrative of the Whole Proceedings of the High Court of Justice in the Tryall of the King', printed text in black on white paper, with handwritten number 12 at top left. Imprimatur by Gilbert Mabbot, printed for John Playford, London, dated Jan. 23, 1649.Document

Primary source

A Perfect Narrative of the Whole Proceedings of the High Court of Justice in the Tryal of the King

Published by order of the High Court of Justice · 23 January 1649

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