Charles Stuart, that man of blood
Charles Stuart, that man of blood was a phrase used by Independents, during the English Civil War to describe King Charles I. The phrase is derived from the Bible: This and another verse were used to justify regicide: Windsor Castle prayer meeting Although the phrase had been used for a number of years by Independents, it became politically significant in April 1648 during the three-day prayer meeting at Windsor Castle by the leadership of the New Model Army. The Army leadership felt deeply betrayed by the King because they thought that while they had been negotiating in good faith he had duplicitously gone behind their backs in making The Engagement with the Scots and encouraging a new civil war. At the end of the meeting the Grandees of the Army accepted that it was their duty "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done". See also High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I Notes References Thomas N. Corns. The Royal Image: Representations of Charles I Cambridge University Press, 1999, , Martin Dzelzainis. Anti-monarchism in English Republicanism David Farr. Henry Ireton and the English