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1649: the forgotten part of Our Island Story
KEITH FLETT shines a light on the moment when parliamentary democracy laid down its first roots
A statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Place of Westminster, in central London, September 3, 2008

VARIOUS members of the royal family have been in the news at the start of 2024 due to a range of health problems. Not for them, of course, the NHS but rather a private clinic in central London. Media coverage has been extensive but I can find no mention of another royal event.

January 30 in 2024 marked the 375th anniversary of the regicide that saw King Charles I executed in Whitehall for treason. Given that there is a powerful lobby on the Tory right that Our Island Story should be told in full and never added to or changed — a point made by Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch — this seems surprising.

Surprising that is until you start to look for historical reminders of the period between 1649 and 1660 when the country was run without the assistance of a monarch.

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