Trial of the King In 1649, he was made president of the parliamentary commission to try the king. Other lawyers of greater prominence had refused the position. Bradshaw was a controversial choice as Lord President, and opinions of his efficiency as a judge varied. Bulstrode Whitelocke believed that he was "learned in his profession," but Thomas Fuller dismissed him as a man "of execrable memory, of whom nothing good is remembered." The King himself, as well as much of the court, professed to having never heard of him. Bradshaw himself did not attend court until the third session after his appointment, apologising on the grounds that he had been out of London and disavowed his ability to perform "so important a task." While he served as the Lord President, he was flanked by an impressive personal guard and carried a sword at his side. He wore scarlet robes and a "broad-brimmed, bullet-proof beaver hat, which he had covered over with velvet and lined it with steel and he also wore armour underneath his robes." King Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court and would not plead. After declaring Charles I guilty as a "Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer, and a public enemy," Bradshaw did not allow the king any final words. Under English law, a condemned prisoner was no longer alive and therefore did not have the right to speak, and Bradshaw followed this tradition strictly. Commonwealth and Protectorate On 12 March 1649, Bradshaw was elected President of the Council of State, which was to act as the Executive of the country's government in place of the King and the Privy Council. From 1 August 1649, Bradshaw also held the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. As Lord President he conducted trials of leading Royalists and condemned to death by beheading the Duke of Hamilton, Lord Capell, the Earl of Holland and Eusebius Andrews, for which he was well rewarded. After wars in Scotland and Ireland, the Long Parliament had still not dissolved itself or called for re-elections. On 30 April 1653, Oliver Cromwell declared Parliament and the Council dissolved and soon assumed rule as Lord Protector calling elections for a new Parliament himself. After that date Bradshaw served as commissioner of the Duchy, jointly with Thomas Fell, until mounting differences with Cromwell culminated in his resignation in 1654. Bradshaw, an ardent Republican, became an opponent of the