The Thirtieth of January. . . .


Being the Day of the Martyrdom of the Blessed King Charles the First. . . .

So begins the old liturgy in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for the only person ever canonized by the Church of England. He was never a Roman Catholic, although his wife was one.

The old Prayer Book liturgy for his day - actually a day of fasting and reparation - can be found here.

The feast, if it can be called that, was removed, I think, early in Queen Victoria's reign. But it has not been forgotten. There are still Anglican societies which commemorate him and promote his cause. The British one is here and the American here.


Rex divine, Rector regum,
Juris Auctor, Dator legum,
Omnem regens populum,
Tibi laudes extollamus
Hodie dum honoramus
Florem regum Carolum.