Royal Oak
Royal Oak is the name of the oak, whose tree crown Charles II in 1651 after the Battle of Worcester hid himself when he was on the run from the Roundheads.
The tree stood in Boscobel Wood, which was part of Boscobel House. Karl known in 1680 compared to Samuel Pepys, that a soldier of the parliamentarians had come to pass directly under him. After the Stuart Restoration, the anecdote was popular; the potter Thomas Toft in Staffordshire made many dishes that were painted with the support of "The Lion and the Unicorn " oak, whose branches sticking out from the face of the king.
Historical context
After the defeat of Charles's Royalist army against Cromwell's New Model Army of the King Lord Wilmot and other royalists fled with Lord Derby. They sought refuge in the White Ladies Priory and Boscobel House.
The King was among those who hid themselves in Boscobel House. The owners of the property, Charles Giffard and the family Pendrell, masked Charles II as a forester. A first attempt of the king to flee to Wales, was defeated by troops of the Commonwealth of England. He then met with William Carlis (or Careless ), one of the last royalists, which had managed to escape from the battlefield. According to tradition, it was Karl himself, who Carlis name changed after the restoration of the throne in Carlos, the Spanish form of the name Charles. The military rank Carlis ' is not clarified, the sources give captain, major or colonel.
As Cromwell's troops approached the house, to search for Royalists, the King, Carli and William Pendrell hid during the day in the crown of oak and hid themselves the next day in a loophole in Boscobel House. Then succeeded Giffard and the Pendrells to use their contacts to other Catholics and to smuggle the King and Lord Wilmot to France.
When King Charles II in 1660 returned to the Kingdom of England, and again ascended the throne, he granted the Pendrells in recognition of their services an annual pension, which is paid to the descendants of the family today. In addition, the Pendrells and Colonel Carlis were given the right to supplement its crest an oak tree and three crowns.
The oak today
The now growing at the site tree is not the original Royal Oak, which was destroyed during the 17th and 18th centuries, because passers- sections to branches and bark pieces as souvenirs. It is a two - or three hundred years old offshoot of the original tree, so it is the "Son of Royal Oak '.
This "Son of Royal Oak ' was severely damaged by a storm in 2000, where he lost many branches. In the vicinity of its location, a new seedling was planted in 2001 by Prince Charles. This was pulled from an acorn of the "Son of Royal Oak " and is therefore a "grandchild " of the Royal Oak.
As a reminder of the importance of the tree in British history a number of places and objects with the name Royal Oak have been named, including eight ships of the Royal Navy. The Royal Oak is the UK's third most common name for a pub.