The radical sect that believed the execution of a king was a prophecy
In short: In 1649, the execution of Charles I wasn't just a political act; for the Fifth Monarchists, it was a cosmic milestone. They believed it signaled the end of the 'Fourth Monarchy' and the imminent arrival of a kingdom ruled by the 'Saved.'
The Fifth Monarchists were a Protestant sect active in England between 1649 and 1660. Their theology was rooted in a millennialist interpretation of the four kingdoms of Daniel: Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman. They believed the Roman Monarchy had ended with Charles I's execution in January 1649, clearing the way for the 'Fifth Monarchy'—the literal kingdom of God on Earth. This belief drove them to view themselves as 'Saints' tasked with preparing the masses for the Second Coming, which some specifically predicted for 1666.
The Fifth Monarchists were chiefly characterised by political extremism, even though they held common tenets with other Nonconformist sects, including antinomianism—the doctrine that the 'Saved' were exempt from the Ten Commandments. They were not a unified religious body with a single coherent doctrine, but rather a collection of factions united by a shared goal: the overthrow of any regime hindering the Kingdom of God. This gave them influence far beyond their actual numbers, as they included high-ranking officers of the New Model Army, such as Major-General Thomas Harrison and Robert Overton.
The movement's trajectory was marked by volatile shifts. They initially supported Oliver Cromwell, even hailing him as a 'new Moses' in 1653, but quickly turned against him when he established the Protectorate. This led to a split between 'suffering Saints' who advocated for non-violence and 'insurrectionist Saints' like Thomas Venner, who took up arms in 1661. Following the Stuart Restoration in 1660, the regime branded them as regicides. The movement effectively dissolved after Venner's failed uprising, though their ideas on the 'Godly Revolution' persisted in other sects.
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