After the execution of his father, Charles I, in January 1649, Charles II had declared himself King, and begun to rally forces to fight back against the Parliamentarian victors of the first and second English Civil Wars. Many of the Scottish Covenanters were angry at the sidelining of Presbyterianism in England, and felt that the new Commonwealth government was too radical, and in the Treaty of Breda, Charles II agreed to swear the Oath of the Covenant and ally himself with their cause. On 5th August 1651, therefore, Charles crossed into England with an army of Scottish Covenanters, in an attempt to stir up English Royalist support and reclaim the throne.
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