Following the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649, swift decisions had to be made about how the country would be governed. The 'Rump Parliament' moved quickly, employing the Parliamentary printers to issue a number of proclamations. This example promulgates an act to abolish the 'kingly office' and disinherit the offspring of the late king. Referring to Charles II as 'Charles Stuart' to deny him royal status, this Act outlaws him from being named as the successor to this father.

Printed proclamations had been issued since the end of the fifteenth century and were designed to draw attention to new laws, regulations or prerogatives. To facilitate their display, they took the form of broadsides, single sheets printed on one side. Before the Civil War, the King's Printers produced proclamations for the Parliament; under the Commonwealth, the Clerk of the Parliament, Henry Scobel, appointed the official printers. Declarations such as this could be produced in print runs of hundreds or thousands, and were distributed to sheriffs across the country for the population at large to see.

Text adapted from Charles II: Art & Power, London, 2017