Historical Points
Although publicity for the movie boasted that it had been made "after ten years' research", it has been criticised for its historical inaccuracies. Costumes, locations (e.g., the layout of the then-House of Commons) and the appearance of actors were generally accurate but, as in many historical films, liberties were taken with the exact course of events.
| Film Depiction | Reality |
|---|---|
| It seriously exaggerates Cromwell's role in the events leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War, suggesting that he and Ireton were among the five members of Parliament whom the king tried to arrest when he entered the House of Commons and that Cromwell stayed in his seat and defied the king. | The five members were John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, William Strode and Sir Arthur Hesilrige. Charles' occupation of the Speaker's chair, signalling his sovereignty over Parliament, and quip about "the birds have flown" are genuine, as is Speaker Lenthall's claim that he had neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak save those words which the Commons would let him use. |
| It puts forward a dated and inaccurate stereotype of Roundheads being more plainly dressed than the Cavaliers. | In reality they dressed the same. |
| Cromwell tells Charles I that the kind of government that he believes England should have is a democracy. | It is generally accepted that Cromwell made no such suggestion to the king. Cromwell and the defeated king met for the only time on the Isle of Wight, where the latter was kept under house arrest in 1648, when king, Parliament and army were trying in vain to hammer out a constitutional settlement. Furthermore, Cromwell disagreed with the demands for manhood suffrage made by the Army radicals in the late 1640s. |
| Both the Earl of Essex (Parliamentary commander-in-chief in the early years of the war) and the Earl of Manchester are shown as sitting in the House of Commons | They would actually have sat in the House of Lords. |
| Cromwell is shown as a Colonel at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. | At the time he was only a Captain, becoming a Colonel in 1643. He was not present at the battle, turning up with his troop too late in the evening. |
| The famous soldiers' prayer: "O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not forget me" is put into Cromwell's mouth. | In fact, the prayer came from Sir Jacob Astley, a Royalist. |
| The New Model Army is shown in black and gold hooped coats. | The infantry wore a trademark red coat — the origins of the red coats worn by British infantry in subsequent centuries. |
| The Battle of Marston Moor of July 1644 goes unmentioned. | It was the biggest battle in the Civil War and Cromwell — by this time Lieutenant-General (second-in-command) of the Eastern Association (the Earl of Manchester's Army) — played an important role in the parliamentary victory. |
| At one point just before going into action Cromwell says "And was Gideon not outnumbered when he fought the Amalekites?" | It was the Midianites whom Gideon fought while outnumbered. |
| The Battle of Naseby—June 1645—is 'reconstructed' with the New Model Army being represented as significantly outnumbered by the Royalists. | The New Model Army outnumbered the Royalist Army, part of whose cavalry was led by Prince Rupert. |
| Cromwell's son Oliver is depicted as having been killed during the Battle of Naseby in June 1645. Towards the end of the film, the elder Oliver is seen at his son's gravestone which clearly shows the year of death as 1644. |
The younger Oliver Cromwell died of smallpox during the spring of 1644 while in garrison at Newport Pagnell. |
| Cromwell is named commander-in-chief of the Parliamentary forces, while Sir Thomas Fairfax is shown as Cromwell's subordinate. | In fact, Sir Thomas Fairfax was "Lord General" (commander-in-chief) of the New Model Army during the English Civil War. Cromwell—one of the few politicians to retain a military command when the New Model was set up—was "Lieutenant-General", second-in-command, and commander of the cavalry. He commanded the Parliamentary right-wing cavalry at Naseby. |
| Cromwell enters Oxford and personally arrests the king in the name of Parliament. | At the end of the First Civil War the king surrendered to the Scottish army and was only handed over to the English Parliament some time later. He was then seized by New Model troops led by Cornet Joyce some time after that. |
| John Pym is pronounced dead in 1646 | He died in 1643 |
| Cromwell is shown bringing troops into the House of Commons and declaring that he now has a majority. |
The incident is strongly reminiscent of Pride's Purge. In 1648, troops under Colonel Thomas Pride refused entry to those MPs who were deemed unsuitable. Lieutenant-General Cromwell was away at the time and it is unclear how much he knew of the purge in advance. The MPs left after Pride's Purge were known as the Rump Parliament. |
| Charles is depicted as planning a second Civil War after his defeat, but the plot is discovered before it can begin. Charles is brought to trial merely for planning this strategy, not for carrying it out. | In reality, this Second English Civil War was fought, and it was only after a second defeat that King Charles was put on trial. |
| Hyde is called 'Sir Edward Hyde' and addressed by the Queen as 'my lord' in scenes which take place in 1641. | He, however, was not knighted until during the Civil War and not elevated to the peerage until 1661. |
| Sir Edward Hyde gives damning testimony against Charles at the king's trial. | Hyde turned against the king, but did not actively testify at the trial. |
| Henry Ireton appears with a delegation of MPs to offer Cromwell the throne. | By the time Cromwell was actually offered the crown—towards the end of his life in 1657—Ireton, his son-in-law, had been dead for nearly six years. |
| Cromwell dismisses the idea of becoming king instantly, laughing it off as absurd after what he fought for. | Cromwell was immediately reluctant to accept the office of king, but took the offer very seriously as so many in Parliament thought it vital. He turned the offer down after several weeks of negotiations, mainly because the army was opposed to it. |
| Near the end of the film, Cromwell tells the Rump Parliament that they have had six years to form a new government after the execution of Charles I. | In truth, they had four years and this scene takes place after Cromwell is offered the crown, which in reality happened eight years after Charles' execution. |
| The film gives the impression that Cromwell spent those years on his farm and lands in Huntingdon. | In fact he had been leading his campaign in Ireland and had fought the Battle of Worcester, subjects that go unmentioned in the film. It was for these campaigns that Cromwell succeeded Fairfax as Lord General. |
| Having dissolved the Rump Parliament, Cromwell throws the mace to the ground, crying 'Away with this bauble'. | The statement he actually made was 'Take away that fool's bauble, the mace'. |
| In the film, Rump Parliament's dismissal is portrayed after Cromwell is granted the crown. | The fact is that he dissolved Rump Parliament before becoming leader of the British Protectorate (the Commonwealth). |
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