1642 Charles I invades the House of Commons
Animosity had been growing for years between a large section of the Parliamentary class and the second king of the Stuart dynasty, Charles I. Charles had attempted to rule without Parliament, introduced a number of unpopular and possibly unconstitutional taxes, and given the impression he favoured the return of Catholicism by supporting the Arminian practices of Archbishop Laud and marrying a French Catholic wife. In 1640 he abruptly cancelled the parliamentary sitting when Members demanded reform. In 1642, acting on the rumour that his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, was to be impeached, Charles brought troops into the House of Commons demanding that five of his critics be arrested.
Sitting in the chair of the Speaker of the House, Charles directed the Speaker to tell him where his opponents had gone. On his knees William Lenthall replied, “May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here.” The king left in disgust, but his actions had greatly exacerbated tensions and further cast him in the light of a tyrant. Within months the English Civil War had begun.