Charles II’s Great Escape: How the Young King Evaded Cromwell for Six Weeks

An examination of Charles II’s desperate flight after Worcester in 1651, looking at how Catholic allies and clandestine hiding places allowed him to slip through Parliamentary eyes. We assess the surviving evidence—priest‑hole architecture, contemporary letters, and court accounts—and contrast it with later mythologising, such as the legendary tree‑jump escape. The episode shows what this evasive manoeuvre meant for Stuart succession and the fragile Restoration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices