Richard Cromwell: A Life
Before Queen Elizabeth II's death, Richard Cromwell was England's longest-lived head of state. By Henry Reece.
Richard Cromwell had one of the strangest and saddest public lives in English history. An obscure country gentleman until he was 30, he then underwent a brief schooling in politics and government, before ruling as the second Protector for eight months. Vulnerable to his creditors for debts incurred during his brief pomp, Richard left England and his family after the Restoration and lived in Europe for twenty years. By the time he returned in the early 1680s, his wife had died. He spent his last thirty years as a paying lodger to a merchant. He died in 1712, fifty-three years after his moment in the sun.
The second Protector possessed attributes that many rulers who came before and after him singularly lacked. His diligence and devotion in implementing the duties of office, coupled with a devout character, embodied the virtues of the godly magistrate. He knew how to carry himself in public, could deliver a speech ably, and possessed an easy personal manner that endeared him to many.
