Prince Rupert of the Rhine for a speedy success in the north. In November 1644 Rupert was appointed General of the entire Royalist army, which increased already marked tensions between him and a number of the King's councillors. By May 1645, and now desperately short of supplies, Rupert captured Leicester, but suffered a severe reversal at the Battle of Naseby a month later. Although Rupert had counselled the King against accepting battle at Naseby, the opinions of Digby had won the day in council: nonetheless, Rupert's defeat damaged him, rather than Digby, politically. After Naseby, Rupert regarded the Royalist cause as lost, and urged Charles
Worcester city walls withstand the artillery bombardments – the surrender in 1646 was mainly the result of a shortage of food and the collapse of the wider Royalist position across the south-west of England. Following further fighting between 1648 and 1649, the Third English Civil War broke out in 1651. Royalist forces under the command of Charles II advanced as far as Worcester, where the army paused to reinforce the walls further and await reinforcements in relative safety. The Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell attacked in early September; the ensuing battle of Worcester saw the Royalist forces pushed steadily back into the city.