Richard Cromwell

Richard Cromwell was born on 4 October 1626, son of the man who would behead a king and rule the Commonwealth. When Oliver died in 1658, Richard became Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but he had no grip on power. He tried to balance the army against a Parliament full of disaffected Presbyterians and Royalists; when civilian councillors moved to prosecute a major-general for anti-Royalist actions, the army turned on him with a show of force and may have detained him. He renounced the Protectorate nine months in. General John Lambert crushed a Royalist revolt but couldn't hold the state together; George Monck marched down from Scotland, Lambert's troops deserted, and the Restoration followed in 1660. Richard slipped into exile on the Continent, living quietly, and eventually returned to his English estate. He died on 12 July 1712, thirty years after the monarchy came back, at the age of 85.