Oliver Cromwell's Monument to Charles I

Oliver Cromwell is the only British head of state who was not royal. He ensured King Charles I was tried and executed during England's civil war. People believed he was gods anointed and people rushed forward to dip their handkerchiefs in his blood because they thought it had a religious magical property. Oliver Cromwell stayed Lord Protector until his death in 1658 for the first time in almost 800 years England had no monarch. Gabriel Heaton says even in death he was akin to a monarch.