One Family's Journey Through Ten Centuries - Book 2

King Charles I did not know that his queen's lady-in-waiting was having an affair with John Pym, an important parliamentarian of the day. She kept Pym well informed about what the king was up to. When the king fell out with Parliament over money, Pym had Charles followed, matters descended and the king ended up under arrest at Carisbrooke Castle, where he got stuck in a window while trying to escape. He was extricated, transported to London, and beheaded. With him no longer available to hand out under-the-table government contracts to his favourite knights, feudalism died on the vine, and the middle class became firmly in control.