Character Relationship Map: To Kill a King

Characters

• Oliver Cromwell (played by Tim Roth) — protagonist

  Oliver Cromwell is Thomas Fairfax’s loyal deputy and a leading Parliamentary commander who helps control the army, arrest royalist MPs, and bring King Charles I to trial and execution. His increasingl...

• Thomas Fairfax (played by Dougray Scott) — supporting

  Thomas Fairfax is the respected commander of the Parliamentary army and Oliver Cromwell’s senior ally. He helps confront Parliament, protects his army and family, opposes the rigged trial and later re...

• Denzil Holles (played by James Bolam) — supporting

  Denzil Holles is a leading Parliamentary figure who prepares a treaty intended to preserve liberties for the future. He secretly bargains with King Charles I and helps secure a favorable parliamentary...

• Sergeant Joyce (played by Adrian Scarborough) — supporting

  Sergeant Joyce is an old army comrade whom Thomas Fairfax recruits for a plan to assassinate Oliver Cromwell after Cromwell becomes Lord Protector. When Joyce draws his pistol, Fairfax intervenes and...

• King Charles I (played by Rupert Everett) — supporting

  King Charles I is the defeated monarch held prisoner by the Parliamentary forces. He refuses to sign a treaty, secretly bargains with Denzil Holles, and attempts to escape with help connected to Lady...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Oliver Cromwell → Sergeant Joyce (Power Execution Authority) — Cromwell exercises lethal authority over the soldier involved in the conspiracy.

  After Joyce is captured during the assassination attempt, Cromwell orders that he be executed immediately.

• Thomas Fairfax → Denzil Holles (Power Conditional Protector) — Fairfax uses his authority selectively, protecting Holles despite opposing his politics.

  Fairfax warns Holles to flee before the army marches on Westminster, although the remaining MPs are arrested.

• Thomas Fairfax → King Charles I (Power Captive Commander) — Fairfax holds military power over the king but remains unwilling to endorse his execution.

  Fairfax commands the victorious Parliamentary forces while the king is held prisoner, and he later refuses to sign the king's death warrant.

• Oliver Cromwell → Thomas Fairfax (Professional Military Deputy) — Cromwell operates under Fairfax's military leadership during the early political crisis.

  The Parliamentary forces are led by Thomas Fairfax, with Oliver Cromwell serving as his loyal deputy.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Thomas Fairfax → Sergeant Joyce (Alliance Conspiratorial Partners) — Joyce becomes Fairfax's direct agent in the attempted assassination.

  Fairfax recruits his old army comrade Sergeant Joyce to help assassinate Cromwell after the investiture.

• Oliver Cromwell → Denzil Holles (Conflict Political Enemies) — Cromwell views Holles's royalist maneuvering as a direct threat.

  Cromwell and Fairfax oppose the parliamentary vote affected by bribery, while Cromwell later captures an agent connected to Holles and investigates Ho...

• Denzil Holles → King Charles I (Alliance Political Bargainers) — Their covert bargain undermines the treaty and Parliamentary authority.

  The king secretly agrees with Holles that he will reimburse parliamentary members who support his restoration without signing the treaty.

• Oliver Cromwell → King Charles I (Conflict Revolutionary Adversaries) — Cromwell treats the king as the central threat to the new political order.

  Cromwell angrily accuses the imprisoned king of helping smuggle palace treasures and later seeks to put him on trial.

Story Analysis

The story follows the collapse of a revolutionary alliance as military victory gives way to political compromise, execution, authoritarian power, and regret.

Plot Progression

1. Victory Without Settlement — Parliamentary forces defeat the king, but the victorious army remains unpaid and restless. A treaty intended to restrain royal power becomes the center of political uncertainty.
2. The Crown's Hidden Bargain — The king secretly bargains with Holles while palace treasures are smuggled away. Cromwell's anger exposes the growing divide between political compromise and revolutionary control.
3. The Army Takes Power — Fairfax and Cromwell move against MPs sympathetic to the king and occupy the political center by force. Their cooperation produces order but also normalizes coercion and extrajudicial violence.
4. A Trial Already Decided — The king's escape and recapture help Cromwell justify a predetermined trial. Fairfax rejects the death warrant and withdraws as the partnership becomes morally irreparable.
5. Power Turns Inward — After the king's execution, Cromwell pursues further war and prepares to become Lord Protector. Fairfax responds with an assassination plot but ultimately saves Cromwell and leaves politics.