The act abolishing the kingship was an act of the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...

that abolished the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

in England in the aftermath of the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 164 ...

. In the days following the

execution of Charles I Charles_I_of_England, Charles I, King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, was executed on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. The execution was ...

on 30 January 1649, Parliament debated the form that any future government should take. On 7 February, Parliament voted down the idea of continuing the monarchy and the act to abolish the office of King was formally passed on 17 March. On 8 May 1660, the Convention Parliament proclaimed Charles II to have been lawful king of England since his father's death, leading to the restoration of the monarchy. Notably, there is a lack of kingship in parliamentary records. This has caused some historians to speculate its lack of importance. On the other hand, Eric Porter, a lecturer of RMIT university speculates that this may have occurred due to vying interests at the time.Porter, Eric: A Cloak for Knavery: Kingship, the Army and the First Protectorate Parliament 1654-55 The Seventeenth Century (17:2) Oct 2002, 187-205. Following the Restoration the act was declared void because it had not received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

References

External links

Full text of the Act
Acts of the Parliament of England 1649 Republicanism in England Second English Civil War {{England-hist-stub