Governor-General's Martyrdom of King Charles I day Proclamation

Today, 30 January, is the 358th anniversary of the Darkest Day in the history of the Crown. On this day, HM Charles I, King and Martyr was executed by the will of 'Parliament' so called.

His Majesty's crime was to assert his Right and Duty as Monarch, and to resist those who would use the Power of the State to compel men's Souls.

HM Charles I, was an Anglican, His wife a Roman Catholic. In a time when Europe, Parliament and the people tended towards violence over questions of Religious Practice, His Majesty stands out as an icon of steadfast adherence to one's beliefs, and toleration of those who believe differently.

While he insisted on the maintenance of the Church of England, with its Bishops, as the Established Church of England, he fought worked against religious hatred, especially in his Realms. In a letter to Pope Gregory XV, dated 20 April 1623, His Majesty wrote:

“Be your holiness persuaded that I am, and ever shall be, of such moderation as to keep aloof, as far as possible, from every undertaking which may testify any hatred towards the Roman Catholic religion. Nay, rather I will seize all opportunities, by a gentle and generous mode of conduct, to remove all sinister suspicions entirely; so that, as we all confess one undivided Trinity and one Christ crucified, we may be banded together unanimously into one faith.”

His Majesty also fought to retain the Active Crown in Parliament. His last words addressed his position very well. On the scaffold, he repeated his case: 'I must tell you that the liberty and freedom [of the people] consists in having of Government, those laws by which their life and their goods may be most their own. .... A subject and a sovereign are clean different things. If I would have given way to an arbitrary way, for to have all laws changed according to the Power of the Sword, I needed not to have come here, and therefore I tell you ... that I am the martyr of the people.'

His final words were 'I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be.' “

Being mindful of these things, I feel it proper to proclaim today to be a national day of Prayer for Forgiveness, Steadfastness and Religious Toleration, here and across the globe.

Now therefore, I Robert VII, Duke of Florida, Lord of St. George, GSB, as Her Majesty's Governor-General in and for the Dominion of British West Florida do hereby Proclaim this the 30th day of January in the Year of Our Lord 2007, and of Her Majesty's Reign the 54th, and of our Dominion the 233rd, to be a Solemn Day of Prayers to Almighty God.

Let us pray for Forgiveness of our own Failures to be Steadfast in our Beliefs, Dedicated to our People, and Tolerant of the Beliefs of others.

Let us pray also for the Strength to remain true to our God, and our Fellow man, neither surrendering our own conscience at the alter of the popular will, not seeking to compel others to do so.

Let us pray that we will follow the example of the Good Samaratin, and help those who are placed in our path, with out regard to their Beliefs, out of a True Heart.