Charles I (1600-1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until his execution. His conflicts with Parliament over royal prerogative, taxation, and religion drove the three English Civil Wars. James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, was among his most committed supporters, and the Isle of Man remained a Royalist stronghold until 1651, two years after the King's death. Charles was tried by a High Court of Justice and executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649.

He had a hand in the marriage that brought the Stanleys their most formidable member. Charlotte de la Trémouille came over to marry Lord Strange, the future seventh Earl, and the King granted her letters of denization on 6 September 1626, after which she and her youthful husband were received at court with great honour. Her dower was thought insufficient by contemporaries, and Lord Strange set about making it up shortly after coming of age.