I now believe that all crowns corrupt those who wear them.
l never thought that l would lead an army against my own countrymen,
but for three bloody years brothers fought brothers in the struggle...
...to be treated fairly by our king.
We won and the king was imprisoned in his London palace,
but the people paid dearly.
l was convinced then we could heal the nation,
but the path to reform was to prove longer and darker...
- ...than l could ever have imagined. - Come on, over here!
- Help me here! - Sir!
Pull it tight.
All right, lad. All right.
Bring down the prisoners.
Bring the next ten prisoners down, sergeant!
No, move along, next.
Take it, be quick.
- Look out! - Long live the king!
Stay where you are!
No, please, sir. No, sir, please, please!
Keep back, stay in line.
Next!
- Who's this? - Do you see what l see?
Wait, Daniel, look.
- General Fairfax. - At your service.
l thought the rebels wore short hair...
...to protest against courtly decadence.
l didn't expect to find their chief...
...with such a luxuriant mane.
You came to talk of hair, madam?
l have a message from your wife.
Then you've traveled far.
My wife is in Yorkshire, as l understand,
tending our estate.
Then you mistake your wife for a dozy housemaid, General.
Lady Fairfax has tended house long enough.
- lndeed? - lndeed.
lndeed she's headed for London.
She thinks three years is long enough to lose her husband to the wars.
You kept it for me.
What do you think?
Forgive me, madam.
l do not sleep well.
Best place to look at the stars.
- What is your name? - Oliver Cromwell.
Well, then you are a liar, Mr. Cromwell.
You guard my husband's tent every night...
...and have done ever since an assassin tried to take his life.
Why do you forfeit your sleep for him?
Your husband is one of god's beloved.
lf he died...
l am his deputy. lt would be inconvenient.
Lost your tent, lieutenant?
Or are you just trying to steal my wife?
Time we got you back to yours.
Oh, Henry, you're safe.
There is our victory.
The lord has granted us a great victory, brethren.
Give them something to eat.
God bless the general.
Well done, General!
Well done, General Fairfax.
Well done.
God bless you. Well done!
Do not thank me.
lt is you who won England's freedom.
Every one of you!
Now the king has decreed...
Your Majesty, step away from the window.
...awarded to Lord General Fairfax...
...for valor in the field.
At last, we can all sleep soundly,
knowing that for once the king cannot...
...impose a new tax on us in the morning.
You make it sound as if we fought the war only to save your profits, Holles.
- Where's the treaty? - All ready for your signatures.
But first, let us cross to the palace and toast a new era...
...of peace and prosperity.
So is it true...
...men who've been to war return with more steel in their bones?
- l have no complaints. - How do you expect to drink a toast...
...without a cup of wine?
- To your favorite soldier. - To his favorite soldier.
Make it near 600,000.
Good work.
God's blessing on you, General.
And all our men.
The lord chose you to be the nation's warrior,
as he chose our cousin Oliver to be its conscience.
Holles, when will the troops be paid?
As soon as we can. Parliament has other...
- ...pressing debts. - This is not the treaty.
The armories and gunsmiths are owed.
This no more than a warrant to ensure free trade.
Where are the law reforms, the guarantees of basic freedoms?
l believe if you read it carefully, you will find them.
We'll remove the king's power to appoint judges.
You do not say why.
Every man has a right to fair trial and opportunity.
lt is a fundamental principle.
lf you have not the guts to write it, then let me.
There is a procedure.
He's right, Holles.
Let us enforce the king's limits.
None of us would want to fight this war again.
By all means, amend it. Ready, my dear?
l'm afraid we must leave.
Now do you see why l saved his life?
- Evening, Elizabeth. - Evening, milord.
Please forgive the late hour, Elizabeth.
Papa, how do you?
How do l?
As well as can be expected for a man...
...who's seen his daughter wed a traitor.
lt will not continue in the future.
ln the future? lf your husband proceeds on this course...
- ...we shan't have a future. - Milord.
- Come into the parlor. - No, l won't impose.
Only came to see if you're well, my dear.
- l am well. We both are. - l'm glad.
So you've enjoyed chasing His Majesty about the country, Thomas,
confining him like a child to his rooms,
driving our friends and cousins abroad in fear of their lives?
lt was he who first raised his flag against the people.
- Let us all sit down. - No, l'll be on my way, my dear.
lt may have escaped your notice, Thomas,
but London is not a welcome place for loyal subjects just now,
our friends' houses lying empty and ransacked,
your rebel redcoats lining every street.
To keep the peace, not to harm you.
You know where to find us, my dear,
for the time being, at least.
Oliver.
Oliver, we have a meeting with the king.
Rumor has it you have a home somewhere.
What do you think?
You forgot to say how often he may cut his toenails.
We're late.
lt's all here, Holles, the troops' accounts.
- The treaty. - Mr. Oliver Cromwell, Your Majesty.
- Anyone else? - Lord General Fairfax,
Mr. Denzil Holles,
Earl of Whitby,
Mr. Henry lreton, Lord Baker,
Sir Richard Pritchard.
We have the peace terms, your grace.
Let me guess.
You would...
...dismantle my arsenal, strip me of my power.
Power to abuse and steal from your subjects...
...was never rightfully yours.
Parliament merely wishes to bind your grace to the law of the land.
No army shall be levied,
no taxes imposed upon the realm, unless by the common...
Council of the realm.
l am familiar with the Magna Carta, Mr. Holles.
Your hand in this too, Lord Fairfax?
l would call you "General",
but it is hard...
...to forget the day you came of age,
when l laid my hand on this shoulder...
...and named you Lord Thomas Fairfax.
Amusing to think you swore loyalty to me then forever more.
l swore to honor and defend my king as he is meant to be.
You were proud that day.
Trembled a little too, as a l recall,
all the court whispering of your beauty...
Our angel-faced Lord Thomas.
Who'd have thought you'd be seduced...
...by the cheap glory of a rebel's cause?
Your Majesty wronged this kingdom.
Lord or not, l was compelled to protest.
Once Your Majesty is a true king again,
l shall be glad to serve him.
And your wife, the lovely lady Anne,
how does she like this rebel in you?
The nation you claim as yours lies shattered and bereaved.
lf you have any love for it, you will sign.
l shall consider it, Mr. Cromwell.
You will grant me time to read it, l trust.
We await your grace's reply.
You might permit your wife to visit...
...as a sign of goodwill.
Even a common prisoner...
...would consider it his right to have a little company.
- Welcome. - Thank you.
You have no wish to live near the town?
Live under the gaze of a thousand watchful eyes?
That is not living.
How can you dream unless you look at the sky?
My daughter Bridget.
- And you've met cousin Henry. - At the celebration, l believe.
God's day to you, General.
Henry.
My wife.
Our husbands are so like brothers, l feel we are sisters already.
Please, come in.
You sent for me, your grace?
l've read the terms, Mr. Holles.
Quite a task you had...
...in marshalling all of Parliament's demands.
So, "Merchants...
...shall protect their trade;
The Puritans, their blessed consciences,"
And oh, yes,
these latter pages...
"The right of every Englishman...
...to life, liberty, et cetera"...
...are in a wilder tone altogether.
Not yours l warrant?
Parliament has many voices. l am merely the speaker.
And your vote counts no more than any other.
Sir, if these triumphal fighting men wish...
...to scatter my goods across the common land,
risk your new trading freedoms...
...with their wilder reforms, you may protest,
but the majority will win, hmm?
l'll hazard l'm not alone...
...in feeling buffeted by this puritanical storm.
lf your grace thinks l prefer the days...
...when your crown officers roamed the land,
taxing and arresting at whim...
But if you were to command my officers,
Mr. Holles,
as Chief Royal Councillor,
second only to the king,
that would be a different prospect, would it not?
l believe your grace will wish to withdraw that remark...
...when he sees how it might be improperly interpreted.
Lord, though we are not worthy of thy blessings,
yet with glad and humble hearts,
we praise thee for the gifts of thy lands.
- Amen. - Amen.
My son Richard.
Glad to meet you, Richard.
A small war divided the nation while you were sleeping.
This man won us the victory.
Remember next time, you owe him your freedom.
- He exaggerates. - l'm sorry.
Excuse me.
Annie.
l told you to take special care.
Please, no one is to blame.
l think...
l think l'm expecting a child.
Following my meeting with His Majesty,
l am informed that those still loyal to the king...
...will lead us to the palace treasures tonight.
Cromwell must not hear of this.
With the king's gratitude,
we could still maintain our trading freedoms...
...and there is a guaranteed profit...
Profit for every man who votes with us...
Enough to buy each of you a new estate.
- Good night, Tom. - Good night.
- Anne.
He will go back to Yorkshire now.
We must not envy, coz.
There are enough of us here to plow the nation...
...into godly shape.
Did you not hear the men cheer?
Tommy's our emblem.
We are brutes without him.
An heir is better than any victory.
The king will not...
We will not be punished too harshly for your rebellion, Thomas?
lf our son should suffer...
A son.
Get this stuff out of here!
Come on, come on. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!
Get this stuff out of here. Hurry!
l don't remember giving you permission to leave.
The king asked for you.
For me? You didn't tell me so.
What does he want?
To have me obey him.
Then he must be obeyed.
Gentlemen, gentlemen,
first to the chief business of the house:
Our representations regarding the peace settlement...
...have been delivered to His Majesty,
together with the supplementary chapters...
Managed to part with her for a few hours...
...for the sake of the nation, Tom?
- We are honored. - Bad dreams?
Have you packed to go?
We haven't had time to make plans.
However, His Majesty proposes...
...that if we return him to the throne,
he will be inclined to do so. To which end...
...and in the interests of a speedy settlement,
l propose we return the king in due ceremony...
...two days hence. All those in favor...
- Aye! - What is this?
What are you doing?
We cannot budge on this, Holles.
What in God's name are you doing?
Counting votes, Mr. Cromwell.
Must l remind you how Parliament works?
How Parliament works?
This is how Parliament works?
We fight long bloody years for justice,
and when the king stamps his foot and says he will not play,
we give up all we've earned?
- We will not vote on this! - Mr. Cromwell!
What are you plotting, Holles?
Did the king turn your feeble bowels to jelly...
...or did you strike some Judas deal?
You would shed blood,
risk other men's lives, some of you your own,
yet you dare not reform the king.
Digby, Proctor, you fought with us at Marston.
Why this treachery now?
- And those against... - Nay!
- 46, sir! - The motion carries!
How is your father, madam?
ln good health, Your Majesty.
And he wishes the same for you.
l will not ask after your husband,
although l trust he will soon recover.
l knew it, Tom. All the palace treasure gone.
l'll kill Holles for this.
Oliver... Oliver...
Let us prove it first.
lt's very pretty.
Sing with me.
Your Majesty, l'm no match.
Please your king.
lt was a lover
And his lass
With a hey and a ho and a hey
Nonny no
And a hey
Nonny nonny no
That o'er the green cornfields did pass
ln springtime
The only pretty ring time.
Can you hold a tune, Mr. Cromwell?
l have some business with the king.
What a pity. We were just getting started.
You will come again tomorrow, my dear.
Well, Anne?
Excuse me, Your Majesty.
Who proposed the deal, you or Holles?
- l beg your pardon? - You think all men are born...
...to be your playthings, given lips to kiss your hand,
knees to grovel at the edge of your well-fingered gown?
You've lost me, Mr. Cromwell.
Parliament is not a whorehouse built to serve your private needs.
lf you expect to buy back the crown with your pirates' gold,
you're not only a thief and a whoremaster, but a fool.
ls that so? l think your mother omitted something...
...from your early education, Mr. Cromwell.
Most men learn in the cradle that l am the king...
...by divine appointment...
...and will not be taught good government by you!
Was anything removed from the palace last night?
Did you see anything? You?
Holles.
Holles,
l see the palace goods have gone. lf you would explain it,
we might believe they were not simply stolen.
These are transitional times, Thomas.
One must expect a certain amount of redistribution.
Our victory has been sold, the troops betrayed,
and l've led God knows how many men to their deaths for nothing.
Lady Fairfax.
Oliver is shouting at the king.
He dismissed me in a way l thought...
- General. - Drive on.
- l'll explain. - General!
Tom, is this where they came?
Only the king's guards have access to these tunnels.
- The king does not deny it. - Nor Holles.
Then we are all that remains of an honest government.
We still have the army.
But our general is going home.
Not yet.
Hear this, men:
You long for your homes. So do l,
but last night the nation's treasures were plundered.
We must wait to dig our neglected fields.
Parliament has betrayed us.
89 men voted today...
...to discount your efforts...
...and destroy the victory you have won.
And unless those 89 men are contained,
l fear there is no chance we shall see the rewards we are owed.
l must ask you...
...for one last march...
Not war, not bloodshed...
One brief call to wake the nation.
Shall we crawl home in meek silence...
- ...because they wish us to? - No!
- Or finish what we started? - Finish it!
Victory will be ours!
Victory!
- So what next, Tom? - The men must be ready to move at dawn.
We must act quickly to keep the advantage.
So, to Parliament.
- lf l've seemed out of temper lately... - l understand.
You look in the mirror after all these years without one,
lt must be a shock for an old man.
Careful, Tom.
You're in my territory now.
Perhaps l'll command this raid.
l only obey men who know north...
...from south.
Tomorrow.
How are you feeling?
l'm not ill.
lf you'll excuse me, gentlemen, l can see you're busy.
How did you find the king?
A little saddened, but willing, l think to hear your demands...
- ...if treated with a little courtesy. - One moment.
l have arranged for the king to be moved...
...to safety until the treaty is signed.
He will not be harmed.
But tomorrow we will arrest the traitors...
...who shared in the palace treasures.
One half of the nation already hates you.
Now you make enemies of the rest... Margaret Holles, all our friends.
l am a soldier. lf l do not finish this...
What kind of inheritance do you think you build...
...for our son?
You chose this course. He will pay for it...
Born into a world his father turned upside down.
Think.
Think what his life will be.
l will send Holles away to exile.
Naming him as thief will be due punishment.
He will never serve in Parliament again.
Thank you.
"Dear Holles,
you and Margaret should leave for France immediately.
Parliament is to be disbanded...
...and the conspirators arrested.
l need not tell you the risks l've taken sending this letter.
l give you this warning in the expectation...
...that should it become necessary,
my son will have one friend at least.
Go now, but understand you may never return.
Yours, Thomas."
Urgent, for Mr. Holles, please.
Hurry, my dear.
Margaret, quickly!
l shall see you...
...this evening.
- That's mine. - Hungry work in Parliament.
Tell the chef we have guests this evening.
To the house.
Why have we stopped?
Take him to the cells.
Unhand me! Unhand me! Get off me!
Unlike Holles to be late.
For the safety of the kingdom,
this house is disbanded.
The following members will accompany my officers:
Sir Thomas Soame.
Hands off me, sir.
Nathaniel Fiennes...
Sir Walter Erle.
How dare you? How dare you?
And one can only suppose...
...that Mr. Cromwell has cast a spell upon your husband...
...and this made him forget his God, his king,
his duty and his privilege as a lord.
But l have no doubt your influence will be enough...
...to remind him, my dear.
Thomas only wishes for the treaty.
Have him take care, madam.
My son and court are in exile,
not dead.
- Move along. - Unhand me, sir.
Come on, get in line. Keep up, get in line.
Get your hands off me!
Not so high and mighty now, are you, lord?
Unhand me, sir!
General Fairfax, sir?
He's with his troops.
Thank you.
l came to see if you... If it was finished.
You think it's time Tom stopped running around taking risks for the nation.
My wife was the same when expecting her first child.
But by the second, you taught her obedience?
Some men have greatness in them.
You never saw Tom in battle.
That man was put on earth to lead armies and build nations,
not stay at home.
You're quick at reading destinies.
You think l've misread his?
You think Tom should follow the path of his forefathers...
Suspect whatever is new,
change nothing, question nothing.
l don't believe l said that.
l'm not convinced that running so fast is the best way to proceed.
You sent for me, father?
Come with me, son.
We caught him at the docks, General. He was headed for Antwerp...
...with instructions for Mr. Holles to exchange...
...all these goods for gold.
- Good work, officer. - Sir.
ls our work done, sir?
Done.
You can have your pay and go home.
They are the faces of greed and treachery, son.
Take a good look.
Which one is Mr. Holles, father?
- Guard. - Yes, sir.
Where is he?
Tom.
Don't worry. The worst is over.
Then you must tell the king. He is not pleased with his new quarters.
lf he accepts the terms, he will escape them.
He's hinting that the prince in the court will avenge his ill-treatment.
ln war he sends an assassin,
and in peace he makes threats to my wife.
- So much for the godliness of kings. - Tom!
Tom, where's Holles? Was he not in Parliament?
- No. - Traitor.
We have a traitor!
Was it you? Did you warn Holles?
Or you? Are you a traitor?
Oliver!
These men have no reason to betray you.
Holles must have heard the march.
Let's set up the trials.
- We'll need more guards in Whitehall. - Best to keep the whole army.
Once the king's allies abroad find we're putting him on trial...
The king? We haven't discussed this.
What is there to discuss?
You fought a war against the king's corruption.
Why stop now?
l will talk to him.
He seems reluctant to grasp the sword...
...which the Lord holds out to us.
Tom fights in the field.
These corridors are new to him.
Lord General Fairfax.
Sit.
Have a plum. They're quite delicious.
Your wife brought them.
A splendid woman...
...your lady Anne. You'd be a fool to lose her, Thomas.
l came to discuss the kingdom.
She's expecting a child, l understand.
Congratulations.
And l'm curious...
If it is a boy...
...do you expect to pass him your title?
We have lost half our government to corruption...
...and still await an olive branch...
...from our king.
All the country hopes and would believe..
...you care for the people's welfare above all else.
lf you would agree our terms,
we could be certain of it.
Am l your...
...divinely-appointed king...
...set on earth by God...
...to rule this nation?
To reign, perhaps,
rather than to rule...
...as a shepherd cares for his flock.
Doubt the sanctity of your king...
...and you cannot by that reasoning...
...think your own bloodline divinely privileged.
Even if some hypocrisy on your part...
...allowed the Fairfax line to continue...
...l shall not grant it.
Your son will be plain "Mister", General,
and his sons too.
l hope your wife understands...
...the sacrifice you make.
Your Majesty, please.
l sign here?
No man commands a king.
No man tells a king his limits.
A king...
...rules by God's grace.
Get out!
l do not recognize this appetite.
lt will most likely be a boy then, ma'am.
The king will go to trial.
l did not wish it, but he leaves us no choice.
There must be some public penance to heal the nation's wounds.
Pardon me, sir, your secretary.
And if he will not apologize?
A jury will decide.
A few years in exile, perhaps.
- Or deposition. - Deposition?
Thomas, you cannot...
Mr. Cromwell would see you now.
l know all about Holles...
...and his accomplice.
Tell him.
The king promised to make Holles...
...his chief royal councillor...
...in exchange for votes in his favor.
They see a man seated on a throne by accident or fate...
...doling out favors in payment for loyalty.
Is it any wonder they grub for rewards?
lt's done, sir.
What gave you the right to kill a man...
...using an army officer... My officer,
as your private executioner?
- This is reform. - We are not butchers, Oliver!
- This is not war! - ls that so, Tom?
When did it end? l must have missed it.
Annie?
Elizabeth, where's...
Annie?
Our child?
l'm so sorry.
Come home with me, please.
Try to sleep.
We weren't meant for this, Thomas.
Our families have always defended kings.
You have a duty.
And how were the goods to be exchanged?
Sir, you are under oath.
Sir!
The Lord is with us in His righteousness.
How do you like it, Tom?
A fine robe in which to try a king.
Get yourself measured.
We lost the child.
Leave us. Go.
l'm so sorry, Tom.
Two gentlemen, madam.
They will not give their names.
Shall l tell them it is not convenient?
No, no.
Send them in.
Gentlemen, please come through.
Forgive this intrusion, madam.
You may not remember,
but we are friends of your father Lord De Vere.
l stayed at the manor some years ago.
James, what a pleasure.
Madam, the Earl of York.
Madam.
l fear we find you in ill health.
No, no.
- l'm sure... - Madam, we must be brief.
Our very being here puts us all in jeopardy.
There are rumors of a trial.
lt has lord Fairfax's blessing, madam?
Well, as you can see...
...my husband is not here to explain his views.
Lady Fairfax, we do not wish to embarrass you,
nor to alarm you, but out of respect...
...for our former acquaintance,
it seems only right to inform you.
The actions of your husband, like those of his...
...friend Cromwell,
are being daily reported to the prince in exile.
We cannot expect the prince to see his father...
...being insulted without recompense.
Your husband has his own reasons for the course he takes,
but l think the gracious and respectful...
...young lady I met those years ago at your father's house...
...would still, l hazard, have a proper...
...and admirable reverence for the king.
Cromwell's bloody reign of terror in the name of freedom...
...is turning the country against them.
lf we could only visit His Majesty...
...to alleviate his situation somewhat...
l'm not at liberty to help you, gentlemen.
Or even to offer our condolences?
Now we have our victory, what will you do, Tom?
Will you send Anne home now?
You must not let her blame you for this.
What say you we take some air, you and l?
What was it you said when we first met...
...and you trained me at guns?
"One thing at a time."
Let's mend the nation, Tom.
You have years afterwards to create an heir.
Perhaps l'm better at taking life than giving it.
We are fathers to the nation, Tom.
Mr. Cromwell, sir!
l said no interruptions!
The king escaped.
We caught him at the river, sir, but his accomplices...
- ...fled before we could get to him. - From the safe house?
But no one knows where it is.
l'll return with you and see to his restraint.
Pardon me, ma'am, visit...
l am sorry for your loss.
The king escaped a few hours ago...
...with plans to raise invasion troops...
...from his cousins in France.
A messenger was found with letters written in the king's hand...
...urging new war on this country.
Tell me you did not do it.
l have not left the house.
My maid is my witness!
What moves you most, Anne...
Your love of Tom or your hatred of me?
Why do you think l hate you?
l underestimated you, Anne.
l see there are two generals in this house.
Oliver?
What have you done?
For god's sake, Annie, do you blame me so much?
Respect my judgment so little?
They told me they wanted to offer the king their sympathies.
- And you believed them? - l don't know.
l don't know what l believed, Thomas.
l have tried to embrace your new world...
Tried to see why everything...
...l once thought right and fit must be torn down...
...because you and your friends say so.
l don't have any friends left to talk to.
The only people who come to this house...
...come to warn me that...
That you may soon be dead.
What was l supposed to do?
Not this, Annie.
l grieve the child too.
l called
Upon the God
Most high
To whom l stick and stand
l mean
The God that will stand by
- l cannot. - Name one reason...
...why a man should hold power over a nation.
- Because he is born to it. - l said a reason...
...not an excuse.
To save me
From their spite
That to devour me
Have assayed
E'en mercy, truth and might
l call upon
The God most high
To whom
l stick and stand
l mean...
The Commons of England...
...are hereby assembled...
...on the 27th day of January...
...in the year of our Lord 1649...
...for the trial of Charles Stuart, King of England.
Yours is the last name, General.
- Let us go. - Wait.
Wait!
We are jurors.
We are here to serve justice.
This is a mockery of it!
You cannot... Will not execute a man,
a king, before he is found guilty!
Brethren...
How long have you been plotting this, Oliver?
Since your traitor wife colluded with the king...
...and proved him rotten beyond repair.
You should be grateful...
...l've not made a warrant for her too.
Do you kill the king to spite me, Oliver?
To punish me for the wife you envy?
l was fool enough to think we were fighting...
...to better the world.
The king lives or the man...
Patronage or opportunity...
Old world or new.
This is it, Tom.
This is our victory...
Our chance to set England free.
l am a reformer,
as l thought you were.
l will reform the king.
Anything less is brutal cowardice.
Too late.
Start the proceedings.
Charles Stuart, King of England...
...this parliament holds...
...that you have abused the power entrusted to you by the law and...
Hold, Little.
l would know by what power...
...l am called hither...
By what authority.
l am your king.
l have a trust committed in me by God...
By old and lawful descent.
l...
...will not betray it to answer a new...
- ...unlawful authority. - You have heard the charge.
Answer it in the name of the people.
l do stand more for the liberty of the people of England...
...than any here that come to be my pretended judges.
l ask again...
Your way of answer is to interrogate the court.
Every man here has lost a friend to your butchering troops.
We are satisfied with our authority.
lf power without law may make laws,
may alter the fundamental laws of this kingdom,
l do not know what subject he is in England...
...that can be sure of his life, or anything he calls his own.
They sit here by the authority of the Commons of England!
You and all your predecessors are responsible to them!
Show me one precedent.
l understood you had read the Magna Carta.
There is a contract between people and king which you have broken.
The Commons of England was never a court of judicature.
l would know how they came to be so.
By choice, sound reasoning and proven honesty,
which is a fairer method than that...
...by which you became king.
l thought we were fighting...
...for the same end at least, but all this time...
Will you fetch the troops and return with the king's friends?
...and destroy their pride and hope in all that is sacred.
- Guilty. - l'm speaking.
- Guilty. - l will be heard!
Sir, did you not hear me?
l am your king!
- Guilty! - Guilty!
We should be at home by now.
l'm taking you to your father's.
The troops are agitating, brother.
There is a danger they may storm the king's cell.
- See they don't. - Without the general?
We must surely seize the general before he reaches his noble friend.
Or bring him back to control the troops.
He's a traitor! He could raise a troop to ride against us.
l shall be general now.
Thomas has found his way back to us.
He'll help us crush this blasted rebellion.
- We've heard about your refusal to sign. - We'll have the king...
...back on his throne and every courtier returned to his rightful...
The king is dead. His blood is written in the warrant.
lf you want to renew the nation and not merely his privileges,
you will plot ways to forge a new and better government...
...instead of condemning us all to fresh slaughter and old corruption.
l'm the only one who can tame him.
- You explained that. - Annie, he is no good without me.
And are you no good without him?
Annie, please, l can make him see.
l must at least try...
...for all of us.
l have a good cause...
...and a gracious god.
l will say no more.
l go from a corruptible...
...to an incorruptible crown...
...where no disturbance can be, none at all.
Remember.
Await my sign.
Red.
This is red blood...
...like our own.
He was God on earth!
He was your prisoner,
your enemy,
a man who killed your brothers for gold.
Have you forgotten?
With this, you are subjects no more...
...but citizens, free men.
You do not have to kneel to any other man!
You are your own masters commanding your own fate.
- You're back. - l need to talk to Oliver.
He's very busy. Make an appointment.
l'll wait...
...if that's all right with you, Henry.
- Is it for me? - No, madam.
James invites us all to his estate...
...so that we may ride and talk together...
...think how best to help the prince,
console ourselves.
l shall stay and wait here.
For how long?
For how long will you continue to suspend your life,
waste your youth and health,
forget your loyalty to your true friends...
...in the hope that that traitor may remember his?
Word from Scotland.
lt's urgent.
The Scots have declared Prince Charles their new king.
Then we shall invade before they do.
Full weapons. All troops ready three days hence.
Building nations is not the glorious affair...
...one might suppose...
Just short nights and fools asking questions.
lf you've come to tell me the people hate me,
you can save your breath.
l am not looking for medals.
l brought them liberty. They will learn to value it.
You will teach them liberty?
Do not test me, Tom.
You've seen the traitors hanging by their necks. You wish to join them?
You're not God, Oliver.
You cannot control the world.
No one has ever ruled this country without a king.
l suggest you go back to your wife!
Those holy fools will never tell you the truth.
They dare not.
From this day on, all you'll hear is lies.
The prince is not even in Scotland!
The Scots are no threat unless you make them so.
Do not provoke me, Tom.
Here's your choice, Oliver:
Listen to me,
or doom this republic to an ill-planned,
brutal tyranny more hated than the king's.
Tom...
l thought you'd left me for sure.
You came back.
Portraits of the king. Portraits of the king.
Here, madam. Only a shilling for a lock of the king's own hair.
Oh, careful with that. That was the last thing he ever touched.
- Arrest him. - l've done no crime!
My trade, sir, is an honest trade.
- Your trade makes children of grown men. - Oliver, no!
How can we expect to build a nation of men...
...if they will ever act like sheep?
l'm not armed, Thomas.
l merely come to offer His Majesty's greetings,
and to thank you for sparing my life.
l told you to stay away.
And so l have.
The prince has been good to us in exile.
He noted you refused to sign his father's death warrant...
...and wonders at your role in this republic.
How much is he paying you to find out?
Yours is the only will that can bend Cromwell's.
That's why you're here, l warrant...
To reform him...
Contain him within the law.
But if that fails, what then?
You've always been the nation's warrior.
You raised your sword against the last tyrant.
Get out.
Get out!
Holles has been seen in the city.
He's doubtless visiting old friends.
Still not in republican uniform, Tom?
l will wear it when you sign the constitution.
You do remember.
After the investiture.
lnvestiture?
Some say you keep your courtly locks...
...to welcome the prince, Tom.
Some say you're the Messiah.
That does not make it true.
Joyce.
l'm going to do what's necessary.
l'll need your help.
You'll die for it, sir.
Not if you make some distraction.
To attention, sergeant!
- Sir. - Sir.
Better l lift the gun.
No, make a distraction.
l shall do it.
What's this, brethren?
News of Cromwell.
How many times did l save him in the field?
l can't believe, after all we've been through together,
that it falls upon me...
...to kill him.
Will you congratulate me, Tom?
l know you cannot.
You think l've fallen in love with gowns and glory,
but you're wrong. l despise them.
You told me to study the lay of the land. So l have.
And l see our countrymen must have a captain, a monarch of sorts.
Last night l stayed up with a globe,
planning.
So many things... Fill ships with men...
Honest, working men...
Send them to trade in the furthest lands.
Learn new science, raise new crops.
You understand, don't you?
What l'm trying to do... What l'm reaching for, beyond all this?
You want to find a wilderness.
Now, Lord Protector of England.
Your Highness.
It has been a long time...
...but l'm glad you could be here.
You never thought l'd come this far, l warrant.
The crowds must surprise you.
You always surprise me, sir.
And we've barely started.
Come and dine at Whitehall tomorrow.
We'll tell you how we plan to conquer the world.
l'd get there faster with you, Tom.
They've always loved you more.
There is an adventurous spirit in the nation.
l know, l have seen it.
l saw you risk your lives in the war...
Sacrifice your sons and brothers...
...because you knew...
Because you knew that this nation could be...
Must be improved.
We knew.
Did we fight those years together shoulder to shoulder for nothing?
This is our chance to build on the peace we've earned...
...and create a new world together.
l am asking for your silver,
not your lives...
Roads to unite the land,
ships to expand the empire.
Would you give up your gaming and whoring to have these?
You are the new model citizens of the world!
Give up your courtly vices.
Rise above this private greed.
Fix your eyes...
Perhaps now you can see our concern.
l saw that traitor's face.
lt was Sergeant Joyce. You remember Joyce, sir.
That's the last time you write my speeches, Little.
We'll never win them with words in any case.
A cause will unite them... Holy cannon fire.
What say we march on the Scots, Tom?
Still against it?
l gave the order.
Shine our civic torch on the brutes before we teach the rest?
l ordered the man to shoot you.
Don't be absurd, Tom.
You saved my life.
Make way! Make way!
We got the traitor covered, sir.
He's on horseback. My men are in pursuit.
Don't tell me something l can't hear, Tom.
We're on the ridge. lt's all ahead of us.
Take him to the tower, sir?
No, to Tyburn. Burn him in public.
No, you have the wrong man!
l find l cannot kill you,
but one day soon a man who loves you less well than l...
...will raise his gun to stop you.
And he'll be right.
Lord Protector was but another name for king...
...and you are a cruel one.
l wish l could believe that you will change,
listen to reason,
act with mercy,
but l have seen enough of your bloodlust...
...and contempt for men's lives to know that you will not.
Arrest him.
Arrest the traitor.
Take him!
Burn him!
Take him away! Burn him!
You would regret it, coz.
Our brave general!
Our brave general Fairfax!
Anne and l returned to our Yorkshire estate.
Word of Oliver's exploits reached my ears...
...and his army grew more brutal in pursuit of a vision...
...that l no longer shared.
l had turned my back on a soldier's life.
l was not to see him again for many years.
Then one night news came from London.
lt's Oliver. He's dying.
You know l have to go.
Oliver.
lf l could kill you, l would have done it years ago.
They tell me you're building quite an empire up there...
New roads, bridges.
You trying to outdo me, Tom?
l cannot yet match you for ships.
ls this a game to you?
Has it always been so?
Did l merely imagine we once fought a war...
Shared the same ambitions?
What happened to the general l once knew?
He would have finished the fight.
He would have rallied the people to this republic.
His was the pretty face they wanted.
Do you not realize how well you are loved?
l warned Holles.
Part of me wanted to stop what we had started.
l wanted my son, the heir l was expecting,
to have at least one friend.
And your daughter?
Molly... A small rebel.
She's learning left from right.
Come to Yorkshire. She can teach you.
These fools will not let me out of the room.
l'd have to slip out in disguise.
Make it soon...
...for the hunting. No chance you'll shoot anything, of course.
So my deer are safe.
l was counting on you.
You let me down.
We were never to meet again and he died soon afterwards.
Two years later we had a king once more.
On his return from exile,
Prince Charles ordered that Oliver's corpse be dug up...
...and displayed on the public gallows.
l see his face still, hear him asking me...
"What has changed?"
l tell him that l have.
l wonder after all these years...
...how things might have turned out...
...had l stayed by his side.
To be true to myself, l had to let him down.
He was a man l loved, but one I failed.