Editing Richard Cromwell

{{Short description|English statesman (1626–1712)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder<!--Neither Cromwell was ROYAL-->
| honorific_prefix    = [[His Highness]]
| name                = Richard Cromwell
| image               = Richard Cromwell (1626-1712), by Gerard Soest.jpg
| caption             = Portrait by [[Gerard Soest]]
| office              = [[Lord Protector#Cromwellian Commonwealth|Lord Protector]] of the [[Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland]]
| term_start          = 3 September 1658
| term_end            = 25 May 1659
| predecessor         = [[Oliver Cromwell]]
| successor           = [[English Council of State|Council of State]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1626|10|4|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Huntingdon]], [[Huntingdonshire]], [[Kingdom of England|England]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1712|7|12|1626|10|4|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Cheshunt]], [[Hertfordshire]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| nationality         = English
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Dorothy Maijor]]|1649|1675|end=d.}}
| father              = [[Oliver Cromwell]]
| mother              = [[Elizabeth Bourchier]]
| children            = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''|1=Edward Cromwell<br />(1644–1688)<br />Elizabeth Cromwell<br />(1650–1731)<br />Anne Cromwell<br />(1651–1652)<br />Mary Cromwell<br />(1654)<br />Oliver Cromwell<br />(1656–1705)<br />Dorothy Cromwell<br />(1657–1658)<br />Anna Cromwell Gibson<br />(1659–1727)<br />Dorothy Cromwell Mortimer<br />(1660–1681)}}
| branch              = [[New Model Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1647
| relations           = [[Robert Cromwell]] (grandfather)
| nickname            = "Tumbledown Dick"<ref name="fraser163" />
| signature           = Signature of Richard Cromwell.svg
}}

'''Richard Cromwell''' (4 October 1626{{spaced ndash}}12 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as [[Lord Protector]] of the [[Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland]] from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector [[Oliver Cromwell]].

Following his father's death in 1658, Richard became Lord Protector, but he lacked authority. He tried to mediate between the army and civil society, and allowed a Parliament that contained many disaffected Presbyterians and [[Cavalier|Royalist]]s to sit. Suspicions that civilian councillors were intent on supplanting the army peaked in an attempt to prosecute a major-general for actions against a Royalist. The army made a threatening demonstration of force against Richard, and may have had him in detention. He formally renounced power only nine months after succeeding.

Though a Royalist revolt was crushed by the recalled civil war figure General [[John Lambert (general)|John Lambert]], who subsequently prevented the [[Rump Parliament]] from reconvening and created a Committee of Safety, Lambert found his troops melted away in the face of General [[George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle|George Monck]]'s advance from Scotland. Monck then presided over the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration of 1660]]. Cromwell went into exile on the [[Continental Europe|Continent]], living in relative obscurity for the remainder of his life. He ultimately returned to his English estate and died thirty years later at the age of 85. 

==Early years and family==
Cromwell was born in [[Huntingdon]] on 4 October 1626, the third son of [[Oliver Cromwell]] and his wife [[Elizabeth Cromwell|Elizabeth]]. Little is known about his childhood. He and his three brothers were educated at [[Felsted School]] in Essex close to their mother's family home.<ref name="waylencromwell28">{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |p=28}}</ref> There is no record of his attending university. In May 1647, he became a member of [[Lincoln's Inn]];<ref name="waylencromwell28" /> however, he was not called to the [[Bar (law)|bar]] subsequently.<ref name=np>{{cite book|title=Oliver Cromwell: New Perspectives|editor=Patrick Little|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|page=248|year=2008|isbn=978-1137018854}}</ref> Instead, in 1647 Cromwell joined the [[New Model Army]] as a captain in [[Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester|Viscount Lisle]]'s [[Life guard (military)|lifeguard]], and later that year was appointed captain in [[Thomas Fairfax]]'s lifeguard.<ref name=np/>

In 1649, Cromwell married [[Dorothy Maijor]], daughter of [[Richard Maijor]], a member of the [[Hampshire]] gentry.<ref>{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |p=37}}</ref> He and his wife then moved to Maijor's estate at [[Hursley]] in Hampshire. During the 1650s they had nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood.<ref>{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |pp=37–40}}</ref> Cromwell was named a [[Justice of the Peace]] for Hampshire and sat on various county committees. During this period, Richard seems to have been a source of concern for his father, who wrote to Richard Maijor saying, "I would have him mind and understand business, read a little history, study the mathematics and [[cosmography]]: these are good, with subordination to the things of God. Better than idleness, or mere outward worldly contents. These fit for public services, for which a man is born".

==Political background==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}
Oliver Cromwell had risen from being an unknown member of Parliament in his forties to being a commander of the New Model Army, which emerged victorious from the [[English Civil War]]. When he returned from a final campaign in Ireland, Oliver Cromwell became disillusioned at inconclusive debates in the [[Rump Parliament]] between Presbyterians and other schools of thought within Protestantism. Parliamentarian suspicion of anything smacking of Catholicism, which was strongly associated with the Royalist side in the war, led to the enforcement of religious precepts that left moderate Anglicans barely tolerated.

A [[Puritan]] regime strictly enforced the Sabbath, and banned almost all form of public celebration, including even at Christmas. Cromwell attempted to reform the government through an army-nominated assembly known as [[Barebone's Parliament]], but the proposals were so unworkably radical that he was forced to end the experiment after a few months. Thereafter, a written constitution created the position of [[Lord Protector of the Commonwealth|Lord Protector]] for Cromwell and from  1653 until his death in 1658, he ruled with many of the powers of a monarch, while Richard took on the role of heir.

==Move into political life==
In 1653, Richard Cromwell was passed over as a member of Barebone's Parliament, although his younger brother [[Henry Cromwell|Henry]] was a member of it. Neither was he given any public role when his father was made [[Lord Protector]] in the same year; however, he was elected to the [[First Protectorate Parliament]] as M.P. for [[Huntingdon (UK Parliament constituency)|Huntingdon]] and the [[Second Protectorate Parliament]] as M.P. for [[Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)|Cambridge University]].<ref>{{acad |id=CRML656R |name=Cromwell, Richard}}</ref>

Under the Protectorate's constitution, Oliver Cromwell was required to nominate a successor, and from 1657 he involved Richard much more heavily in the politics of the regime.  He was present at the second installation of his father as Lord Protector in June, having played no part in the first installation. In July he was appointed [[chancellor (education)|chancellor]] of [[Oxford University]], and in December was made a member of the [[English Council of State|Council of State]].

==Lord Protector (1658–59)==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2022}}
{{See also|The Protectorate}}
[[File:By His Highnes Council in Scotland, for the government thereof Edinburgh 1658.jpg|thumb|200px|Proclamation announcing the death of [[Oliver Cromwell]] and the succession of Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector. Printed in Scotland 1658.]]
Oliver Cromwell died on 3 September 1658, and Richard was informed on the same day that he was to succeed him. Some controversy surrounds the succession. A letter by [[John Thurloe]] suggests that Cromwell nominated his son orally on 30 August, but other theories claim either that he nominated no successor, or that he put forward [[Charles Fleetwood]], his son-in-law.<ref name="Fitzgibbons2010">{{Cite journal
 |last= Fitzgibbons
 |first= Jonathan
 |date= 23 March 2010 
 |title= 'Not in any doubtfull dispute'? Reassessing the nomination of Richard Cromwell
 |location= London
 |publisher= Institute of Historical Research
 |url= https://academic.oup.com/histres/article/83/220/281-300/5609926
 |access-date= 14 August 2022
 |journal= Historical Research
 |volume= 83
 |issue= 220
 |pages= 281–300
 |doi= 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2009.00508.x
}}</ref>

Richard was faced by two immediate problems. The first was the army, which questioned his position as commander given his lack of military experience. The second was the financial position of the regime, with a debt estimated at £2 million. As a result, Cromwell's [[Privy council]] decided to call a parliament in order to redress these financial problems on 29 November 1658 (a decision which was formally confirmed on 3 December 1658). Under the terms of the [[Humble Petition and Advice]], this Parliament was called using the traditional franchise (thus moving away from the system under the [[Instrument of Government]] whereby representation of [[rotten boroughs]] was cut in favour of [[county constituencies]].<ref name="Roberts2012">{{cite book
 |last= Roberts
 |first= Stephen K.
 |editor-last= Jones
 |editor-first= Clyve
 |date= 2012
 |title= A Short History of Parliament: England, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Scotland
 |chapter= The House of Commons, 1640–1660
 |page= 112
 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=k9sDVTsMGMMC&pg=PA112
 |publisher= Boydell Press
 |isbn= 978-1-84383-717-6
}}</ref>) This meant that the government was less able to control elections and therefore unable to manage the parliament effectively. As a result, when this [[Third Protectorate Parliament]] first sat on 27 January 1659 it was dominated by moderate [[Presbyterians]], crypto-[[royalist]]s and a small number of vociferous [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealthsmen]] (or [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|Republicans]]).

The [[Cromwell's Other House|"Other House" of Parliament]] – a body which had been set up under the Humble Petition and Advice to act as a balance on the [[House of Commons of England|Commons]] – was also revived. It was this second parliamentary chamber and its resemblance to the [[House of Lords of England|House of Lords]] (which had been abolished in 1649) that dominated this Parliamentary session. Republican malcontents gave [[filibuster]]ing speeches about the inadequacy of the membership of this upper chamber (especially its military contingent) and also questioned whether it was indicative of the backsliding of the Protectorate regime in general and its divergence from the "[[Good Old Cause]]" for which parliamentarians had originally engaged in civil war. Reviving this House of Lords in all but name, they argued, was but a short step to returning to the [[Ancient Constitution]] of King, Lords and Commons.

[[File:Coat of Arms of the Protectorate (1653–1659).svg|thumb|left|Coat of arms of the Protectorate, borne by Cromwell during his reign as Lord Protector.]]
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's liberties. Moreover, the new Parliament seemed to show a lack of respect for the army which many military men found alarming. In particular, there were fears that Parliament would make military cuts to reduce costs, and by April 1659 the army's general council of officers had met to demand higher taxation to fund the regime's costs.

Their grievances were expressed in a petition to Cromwell on 6 April 1659 which he forwarded to the Parliament two days later. Yet Parliament did not act on the army's suggestions; instead they shelved this petition and increased the suspicion of the military by bringing articles of impeachment on 12 April 1659 against [[William Boteler]], who was alleged to have mistreated a royalist prisoner while acting as a major-general under Oliver Cromwell in 1655. This was followed by two resolutions in the Commons on 18 April 1659 which stated that no more meetings of army officers should take place without the express permission of both the Lord Protector and Parliament, and that all officers should swear an oath that they would not subvert the sitting of Parliament by force.

These direct affronts to military prestige were too much for the army grandees to bear and set in motion the final split between the civilian-dominated Parliament and the army, which would culminate in the dissolution of Parliament and Cromwell's ultimate fall from power.  When Cromwell refused a demand by the army to dissolve Parliament, troops were assembled at [[St. James's Palace]]. Cromwell eventually gave in to their demands and on 22 April, Parliament was dissolved and the [[Rump Parliament]] recalled on 7 May 1659.

In the subsequent month, Cromwell did not resist and refused an offer of armed assistance from the French ambassador, although it is possible he was being kept under house arrest by the army. On 25 May, after the Rump agreed to pay his debts and provide a pension, Cromwell delivered a formal letter resigning the position of Lord Protector. He told parliament that "I love and value the Peace of this Commonwealth much above my own concernments”.<ref>[[Dictionary of National Biography]], 1885-1900/Cromwell, Richard</ref> "Richard was never formally deposed or arrested, but allowed to fade away. The Protectorate was treated as having been from the first a mere usurpation."<ref>Jones, J. R. ''Country and Court: England 1658–1714'' Edward Arnold (1978) p. 120</ref>

He continued to live in the [[Palace of Whitehall]] until July, when he was forced by the Rump to return to Hursley. Royalists rejoiced at Cromwell's fall, and many satirical attacks surfaced, in which he was given the unflattering nicknames "Tumbledown Dick" and "Queen Dick".<ref name="fraser163">Fraser, Antonia (1979). ''King Charles II''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 163.</ref>

==Later years (1659–1712)==
During the political difficulties of the winter of 1659, there were rumours that Cromwell was to be recalled as Protector, but these came to nothing. In July 1660, Cromwell left for France, never to see his wife again.<ref>{{harvnb|Waylen|Cromwell|1897|pp=28–29}}</ref> While there, he went by a variety of pseudonyms, including John Clarke. He later travelled around Europe, visiting various European courts. As a visiting Englishman, he was once invited to dine with [[Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti]], who was unaware of who he was. At dinner, the prince questioned Cromwell about affairs in England and observed, "Well, that Oliver, tho' he was a traitor and a villain, was a brave man, had great parts, great courage, and was worthy to command; but that Richard, that [[:wikt:coxcomb|coxcomb]] and [[:wikt:poltroon|poltroon]], was surely the basest fellow alive; what is become of that fool?" Cromwell replied, "He was betrayed by those he most trusted, and who had been most obliged by his father." Cromwell departed from the town the following morning.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Life of Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland |date=1743 |page=406 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlQ9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406 |first=Isaac |last=Kimber |location=London |publisher=J. Brotherton and T. Cox |edition=5th}}</ref> During this period of voluntary exile, he wrote many letters to his family back in England; these letters are now held by [[Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies]] at the County Record Office in Huntingdon.

In 1680 or 1681, he returned to England and lodged with the merchant [[Thomas Pengelly (merchant)|Thomas Pengelly]] in [[Cheshunt]] in Hertfordshire,<ref name="waylencromwell28" /> living off the income from his estate in Hursley. He died on 12 July 1712 at the age of 85.<ref>{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |p=29}}</ref> His body was returned to Hursley and interred in a vault beneath All Saints' Parish Church, where a memorial tablet to him has been placed in recent years. He was the longest-lived British head of state for three centuries, exceeding even the long-lived and far longer-reigning [[George III]] and [[Queen Victoria]], until [[Elizabeth II]], who died aged 96.<ref name="QEII_death">{{Cite news |date=8 September 2022 |title=Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II has died |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908173314/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886 |archive-date=8 September 2022 |access-date=8 September 2022 |work=BBC News |mode=cs2}}</ref>

==Fictional portrayals==
Cromwell has been depicted in historical films. They include ''[[Cromwell (film)|Cromwell]]'' (1970), where he was portrayed by [[Anthony May]],<ref name="Munden">{{harvnb |Munden |1971 |pp=214–215}}</ref> and ''[[To Kill a King (film)|To Kill a King]]'' (2003), where he was played by John-Paul Macleod.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1190529-1190529-to_kill_a_king/ |title=To Kill a King (2003) |publisher=RottenTomatoes.com |access-date=4 May 2011}}</ref> The 1840 historical stage play ''[[Master Clarke]]'' by [[Thomas James Serle|Thomas Serle]] revolves around Cromwell, who was portrayed by [[William Macready]] at the [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket|Haymarket Theatre]].

Cromwell is portrayed in the novel ''[[The Last Protector]]'' by [[Andrew Taylor (author)|Andrew Taylor]].

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Munden |first=Kenneth White |title=The American Film Institute Catalog, Feature films 1961–1970 |year=1971 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-20970-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC}}
* {{cite book |title=The House of Cromwell: A Genealogical History of the Family and Descendants of the Protector |first1=James |last1=Waylen |first2=John Gabriel |last2=Cromwell |location=London |publisher=Elliot Stock |year=1897 |url=https://archive.org/details/houseofcromwellg00wayl }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Alumni Felstedienses |last1=Beevor |first1=R. J. |last2=Roberts |first2=E. T. |year=1903}}
* {{cite book |last=Chapman |first=James |title=Past and Present: National Identity and the British Historical Film |year=2005 |publisher=I. B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-85043-808-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6Wazi7wgAkC}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Gaunt |first=Peter |encyclopedia=11298 [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] |title=Richard Cromwell |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6768 |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/6768 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Hutton |title=The Restoration: A Political and Religious History of England and Wales, 1658–1667 |year=1985 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-822698-5}}
* {{DNB|last=Firth|first=C.H. |authorlink=Charles Harding Firth |wstitle=Cromwell, Richard |volume=13 |pages=186–192}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cromwell_oliver.shtml BBC Bio of Oliver Cromwell]
* [http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon48a.html Britannia.com "Monarchs" Page on Richard Cromwell]

{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oliver Cromwell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lord Protector#Cromwellian Commonwealth|Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland]]|years=3 September 1658 – 25 May 1659}}
{{s-aft|after= [[English Council of State|Council of State]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oliver Cromwell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Chancellors of the University of Oxford|Chancellor of the University of Oxford]]|years=1657–1660}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|William Seymour]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{English monarchs}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Richard}}
[[Category:Richard Cromwell| ]]
[[Category:1626 births]]
[[Category:1712 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century English politicians]]
[[Category:18th-century English people]]
[[Category:17th-century English judges]]
[[Category:Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Heads of state of England]]
[[Category:People educated at Felsted School]]
[[Category:New Model Army personnel]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:People from Huntingdon]]
[[Category:Republicanism in England]]
[[Category:Cromwell family]]
[[Category:People of the Interregnum (England)]]
[[Category:English MPs 1654–1655]]
[[Category:English MPs 1656–1658]]
[[Category:Lords Protector of England]]
[[Category:English justices of the peace]]
[[Category:Children of Oliver Cromwell]]
[[Category:Man in the Iron Mask]]