Ferocious battles were fought between Charles’s supporters and those who wanted more say in ruling matters. It tore the country apart. The parliamentarians came out on top and a captured Charles was put on trial. He sat upon the crimson-lined chair in Westminster Hall, facing his accusers. The King, wishing to be heard, tapped his cane on the shoulder of John Cook, the chief prosecutor, but the cane’s silver head fell off and rolled across the floor. If anyone needed a sign of what was to come, surely that was it.
