Banqueting House, Whitehall lived in "splendour and state", or publicly. The less exalted and the general public would be permitted to crowd the gallery in order to watch the King dine. The lower status of those in the gallery was emphasised by the lack of an internal staircase, the gallery only being accessible by an external staircase. The building was, however, later extended to accommodate an internal staircase. James I, for whom the Banqueting House was created, died in 1625 and was succeeded by his son, Charles I. The accession of Charles I heralded a new era in the cultural history of England.
To Kill a King worries that he is somehow to blame, despite Cromwell's reassurances. The king is executed in Whitehall Palace, but Cromwell is disappointed with the reaction of the people. When he hears that the executed king's son and heir, (Prince of Wales) Prince Charles has been declared King of Scotland by the Parliament of Scotland, he orders an invasion to the north, although Fairfax protests that this is an unnecessary war and that the prince is not even in Scotland at that time. Soon afterwards he encounters a man selling royalist trinkets in the street and summarily executes him, much to Fairfax's