Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
How did an oak tree SAVE THE LIFE OF A KING? That’s just one of the questions I’ll be answering in today’s royal history documentary from History Calling as we look at the story of the Royal Oak and more generally, at how Charles II escaped Oliver Cromwell and his forces (known as the Roundheads or the Parliamentarians) in 1651 after the then exiled King made a failed attempt to take back his throne and ended up running through the English countryside as Cromwell’s troops hunted for him. It was a terrifying ordeal and though Charles would ultimately make it back to France in safety, it would be years before he was able to reclaim his birthright.
The story starts with the English Civil Wars, the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the seizure of England by Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. With the old King dead, the throne passed to his eldest son, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, who technically became Charles II, thought at that point it was his title in name only, at least in England and Wales. Already in exile in the Netherlands at that time, though he was often also in France, the home of his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles would spend over a decade trying to get his inheritance back during a period called the Interregnum, because it was the time between the two Kings. After going to his northern kingdom to take advantage of support there he was ultimately crowned in Scotland on New Year’s Day 1651 and later that year, in September, he fought and lost the Battle of Worcester against the Roundheads and had to flee. It was after this that he found himself hiding up a tree (this is how the Royal Oak got its name) near the White Ladies Priory and Boscobel House. It was an incredibly close-run thing. As he would later tell famed diarist Samuel Pepys in 1680, twenty years after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, enemy soldiers passed directly underneath him as he hid. This is the tale of the great escape of the merry monarch and of how the House of Stuart managed to survive the interregnum. I’ll tell you about all the places Charles II hid, how the King was reduced to poverty, the stories of many of the people who helped him get away and why roundheads are called roundheads! I’ll also look at the history of Royal Oak Day, a national celebration of Charles’s miraculous getaway.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
THE STUARTS PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FpTGgZhdt94Jq0ollCJmN9
WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLES I’S CORPSE?
youtu.be/71HpXT1q0EU
CHARLES II’S SECRET QUEEN?
youtu.be/dXqYeb0umRQ
SCOTTISH CROWN JEWELS
youtu.be/EJ6yp90SUWQ
WERE THOMAS AND OLIVER CROMWELL RELATED?
youtu.be/VvyBw6AP9Bk
LEARN MORE:
Charles Spencer, To Catch a King: Charles II’s Great Escape (2017).
amzn.to/3xNmaj9
Antonia Fraser, King Charles II (1979).
amzn.to/4d3tHJh
Trevor Royle, Civil War: the wars of the three kingdoms, 1638-1660 (2004).
amzn.to/3Lph9An
[FREE] Blog post describing the celebration of Royal Oak Day at All Saints’ Church Northampton, 2010.
web.archive.org/web/20171107021857/http://www.allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk/latest_news_article17.shtml
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
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GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
#RoyalOak, #CharlesII #Interregnum #Boscobel #HistoryCalling
How did an oak tree SAVE THE LIFE OF A KING? That’s just one of the questions I’ll be answering in today’s royal history documentary from History Calling as we look at the story of the Royal Oak and more generally, at how Charles II escaped Oliver Cromwell and his forces (known as the Roundheads or the Parliamentarians) in 1651 after the then exiled King made a failed attempt to take back his throne and ended up running through the English countryside as Cromwell’s troops hunted for him. It was a terrifying ordeal and though Charles would ultimately make it back to France in safety, it would be years before he was able to reclaim his birthright.
The story starts with the English Civil Wars, the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the seizure of England by Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. With the old King dead, the throne passed to his eldest son, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, who technically became Charles II, thought at that point it was his title in name only, at least in England and Wales. Already in exile in the Netherlands at that time, though he was often also in France, the home of his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles would spend over a decade trying to get his inheritance back during a period called the Interregnum, because it was the time between the two Kings. After going to his northern kingdom to take advantage of support there he was ultimately crowned in Scotland on New Year’s Day 1651 and later that year, in September, he fought and lost the Battle of Worcester against the Roundheads and had to flee. It was after this that he found himself hiding up a tree (this is how the Royal Oak got its name) near the White Ladies Priory and Boscobel House. It was an incredibly close-run thing. As he would later tell famed diarist Samuel Pepys in 1680, twenty years after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, enemy soldiers passed directly underneath him as he hid. This is the tale of the great escape of the merry monarch and of how the House of Stuart managed to survive the interregnum. I’ll tell you about all the places Charles II hid, how the King was reduced to poverty, the stories of many of the people who helped him get away and why roundheads are called roundheads! I’ll also look at the history of Royal Oak Day, a national celebration of Charles’s miraculous getaway.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
THE STUARTS PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FpTGgZhdt94Jq0ollCJmN9
WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLES I’S CORPSE?
youtu.be/71HpXT1q0EU
CHARLES II’S SECRET QUEEN?
youtu.be/dXqYeb0umRQ
SCOTTISH CROWN JEWELS
youtu.be/EJ6yp90SUWQ
WERE THOMAS AND OLIVER CROMWELL RELATED?
youtu.be/VvyBw6AP9Bk
LEARN MORE:
Charles Spencer, To Catch a King: Charles II’s Great Escape (2017).
amzn.to/3xNmaj9
Antonia Fraser, King Charles II (1979).
amzn.to/4d3tHJh
Trevor Royle, Civil War: the wars of the three kingdoms, 1638-1660 (2004).
amzn.to/3Lph9An
[FREE] Blog post describing the celebration of Royal Oak Day at All Saints’ Church Northampton, 2010.
web.archive.org/web/20171107021857/http://www.allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk/latest_news_article17.shtml
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
#RoyalOak, #CharlesII #Interregnum #Boscobel #HistoryCalling
