The King and I

There is unrest in the country, there is trouble brewing between Royalists and Parliamentarians.  A war is about to begin in England, a war with itself.  But its fingerprint travelled  to 21st century England one night in my home town.

The English Civil Wars (1642-1651) stemmed from conflict between Charles I and Parliament over an Irish insurrection. The first war was settled with Oliver Cromwell’s victory for Parliamentary forces at the 1645 Battle of Naseby. The second phase ended with Charles’ defeat at the Battle of Preston and his subsequent execution in 1649.

Charles’ son, Charles, then formed an army of English and Scottish Royalists, which prompted Cromwell to invade Scotland in 1650. The following year, Cromwell shattered the remaining Royalist forces and ended the “wars of the three kingdoms,” though Charles II eventually ascended to the throne in 1660.

Then long after the event has been written into the history books and the shelves of numerous libraries a remnant appears in the 21st century in front of my eyes.

I live in the ancient capital of Mercia but in modern times, yet time has travelled from the 17th Century England to greet me now!

One evening whilst within a local meeting place I looked up and saw the spirit of King Charles ‘I’ walking out of a room through the door and across the room I was sitting in.

The King just looked straight at me as I looked straight at him, no words spoken between us, just eye contact for that brief moment when time merged.

Charles was wearing a burgandy cavalier suit and a matching burgandy cavalier hat as he simply vanished back into the realms beyond my five senses.

The moment lasted less than a minute but the memory of it will last forever, a brush with English Royalty from days gone by.

Just what must he have been thinking as he saw me sitting there in modern attire looking at him?

Time and reality is far more than we understand or know and has far more facets than we often realise.

This was one evening when the past walked passed!

Best regards

Michael Feeley

www.michael-feeley.com