Game Of Kings: The Stuarts, A Bloody Reign

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 King James VI of Scotland claims her throne along with the new title of King James I of England He faces numerous attempts on his life including the notorious Gunpowder Plots as well as the threat of the terrifying Thirty Years War raging on the continent

Charles I succeeds James I in 1625 Believing in the divine right of kings his reign proves tempestuous as authoritarian rule and religious upheaval lead to the outbreak of civil war

Oliver Cromwells Commonwealth comes to an end soon after his death in 1660 and an exiled king returns to London with an enormous fanfare King Charles IIs reign is a dramatic shift away from the rule of the Puritans that precede him but the dual tragedies of the Plague and the Great Fire of London strike the nations heart

King James II succeeded his brother King Charles II in 1685 He was a Catholic monarch of a Protestant nation and attempts had already been made to prevent him from claiming the throne The last of the Stuart kings would reign for only three years and it would be his own daughter Mary who would be his downfall She along with her husband William of Orange would overthrow the House of Stuart