After the execution of his father, the young Charles flees England.
Over the course of a 40-day journey, he must learn how to live rough, evade capture and earn the kindness of strangers.
Charles....Simon Woods
Derby/John Penderel....Kevin Eldon
Wilmot....Chris Larkin
George Penderel/Whitgreave....Simon Treves
Gifford/Woolf....Malcolm Brown
Carlis/Colonel....Stephen Carlile
Betty/Jane....Kate Sachs
Mrs Woolf/Cook....Jill Shilling
Directed by Dirk Maggs.
Boscobel is a very small civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire. To the north is the Staffordshire village of Bishops Wood. It is the site of Boscobel House, home to the Giffard family, owners of the Boscobel Royal Oak, where Charles II hid in an oak tree after losing the Battle of Worcester in 1651.(The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II. The 16,000 Royalist forces were overwhelmed by the 28,000 strong "New Model Army" of Cromwell.)
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was located in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles confirmed to Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was hiding in the tree, a Parliamentarian soldier passed directly below it. The story was popular after the Restoration, and is remembered every year in the English traditions of Royal Oak Day.
The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life. Charles had lost to Cromwell's New Model Army at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 and was a wanted man. A reward of £1,000 was offered for the capture of the King, and it is likely that the King and anyone helping him would have been executed for treason, if caught. The King had a distinctive appearance: very swarthy and six foot two inches tall (1.88 metres), at a time when most men were under 5'10. Furthermore there were cavalry patrols specifically tasked with finding the King.
Fortunately for Charles, the Catholics had an organisation with 90 years of experience in keeping secrets and hiding people. However it was also illegal for Catholics to travel more than five miles away from their homes without a pass from the Sheriff of the County, increasing the hazards faced by those who helped him.
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