Commonwealth of England to them, as part of what is now referred to as the Third English Civil War. In 1653, after the forcible dissolution of the Rump Parliament, the Army Council adopted the Instrument of Government which made Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of a united "Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland", inaugurating the period now usually known as the Protectorate. After Cromwell's death, and following a brief period of rule under his son, Richard Cromwell, the Protectorate Parliament was dissolved in 1659 and the Rump Parliament recalled, the start of a process that led to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
Cardinal protector of England German princes, although he was not the German protector in any official sense, and his protectorship of England is "the first official one of any cardinal which can be firmly established". Henry VII did not object to Piccolomini's German connections, even viewing them as an asset against the French. The appointment of Adriano Castellesi as cardinal on 31 May 1503 "eclipsed England's cardinal protector", with appointments to the English sees thereafter being referred through Castellesi instead of through Piccolomini. Piccolomini was himself elected as Pope Pius III on 22 September 1503, only to die less than a month later, on