Battle of Naseby Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby was a decisive engagement of the English Civil War, fought on 14 June 1645 between the main Royalist army of King Charles I and the Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. It was fought near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. After the Royalists stormed the Parliamentarian town of Leicester on 31st May 1645, Fairfax was ordered to lift his siege of Oxford, the Royalist capital, and engage the King's main army. Eager to bring the Royalists to battle, Fairfax set off in pursuit of the Royalist
Prince Rupert of the Rhine men, he also made many enemies at the Royal court. When he took Bristol, he also slighted the Marquess of Hertford, the lethargic but politically significant Royalist leader of the South-West. Most critically, Rupert fell out with George Digby, a favourite of both the King and the Queen. Digby was a classic courtier and Rupert fell to arguing with him repeatedly in meetings. The result was that towards the end of the war Rupert's position at court was increasingly undermined by his enemies. Rupert continued to impress militarily. By 1644, now the Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, he