Brandon was the Common Hangman of London in 1649 and he is frequently cited as the executioner of Charles I. The royalist losses of the English Civil War had led to Charles I's capture. Upon his trial, the High Court of Justice sentenced him to death for his tyrannical rule as King of England. The execution of Charles I occurred on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall; the executioner and his assistant were hidden behind false wigs and beards, with crude masks covering their faces. Because of this, contemporary sources disagreed with each other and misidentified the executioner (one French source reported that Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell had personally executed Charles) and the precise identity of the executioner remains unknown. The execution of Charles I was done expertly, with a single clean cut to Charles' neck, possibly suggesting that the executioner was experienced, and pointing towards someone like Brandon who had much pride in his use of an axe. He is also reported to have received £30 around the time of the execution. He had also executed other royalists before Charles and after, including Thomas Wentworth, William Laud, and Lord Capel, indicating few moral qualms over executing political criminals. Despite this, a contemporary letter reports that he refused £200 to kill the king, and he continually denied having committed the act, even until his death in June 1649.