Duration of English Parliaments Before 1660 - Parliaments of King Charles I

Parliaments of King Charles I

The Long Parliament, which commenced in this reign, had the longest term and the most complex history of any English Parliament. The entry in the first table below relates to the whole Parliament. Although it rebelled against King Charles I and continued to exist long after the King's death, it was a Parliament he originally summoned. An attempt has been made to set out the different phases of the Parliament in the second table in this section and in subsequent sections. The phases are indicated by a letter in the -Plt column (in the case of these phases they all share the same -Plt number, which is used in the first table of this section, so the column is available to set out the letter for the phases moving forward from 1640) and are explained in a note.

Note:-

• (a) Speakers of the Long Parliament (including times when it sat as the Rump Parliament): Lenthall 3 November 1640 – 26 July 1647; Pelham 30 July 1647 – 5 August 1647; Lenthall 6 August 1647 – 20 April 1653 (restored to the Chair by the Army and sat until Oliver Cromwell dissolved the Rump Parliament) and 26 December 1653 – 13 January 1660 (when the Rump was restored); Say 13 January 1660-21 January 1660 and Lenthall 21 January 1660 – 16 March 1660.