“An 18th-Century French engraving depicting the beheading...

“An 18th-Century French engraving depicting the beheading of Charles I accords fairly accurately with contemporary descriptions of the scene. Bishop Juxon holds the Lesser George of the Order of the Garter which the King handed to him on the scaffold and Charles has just stretched out his hands as a pre-arranged signal to the headsman. The executioner and his assistant are both masked and hooded and the assistant is preparing to catch the King’s head and hold it aloft. Note the artist sketching the scene.” From DEBRETT’S KINGS AND QUEENS OF BRITAIN by David Williamson (Salem House, 462 Boston St., Topsfield, Mass. 01983: $27.50; 240 pp.; color and black-and-white illustrations).