A history lover who drives around the country dressed as King Charles I after a friend pointed out his uncanny resemblance to the 17th century monarch says even though he does not have a horse or carriage, he will bring a previous king ‘back to life’ on coronation day. Daniel Williams, 49, has spent the past four years driving to historical sites across England, Wales and Scotland to bring his hero back to life and raise the profile of the UK’s heritage.
He has spent hours painstakingly recreating the former king’s appearance based on famous portraits, from his iconic beard and moustache to his Garter Collar, cape and ostrich feather. Now Daniel has expanded his royal repertoire to include King Charles II and will be showcasing his costume and acting skills on May 6, coronation day, which he describes as a “momentous day”.
But getting into character is not always easy for Daniel, who often has to use his car as a changing room and does not charge for his entertainment and services. “I will be able to bring a previous king to life and celebrate as well,” said Daniel, who works as a music producer and DJ.
“I think it’s great to see these traditions alive, because a lot of countries don’t have what we have here in the UK. The first time I put the costume on, I took a selfie and it just looked like King Charles I taking a picture of himself in the mirror.”
Daniel, from Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, loved history in school but started taking a special interest in Charles I after reading The English Civil War, A People’s History by Diane Purkiss and visiting Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight with his father Clifford, 80. “Some people say he was the last true monarch because he had the real powers of a king,” said Daniel.
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“I remember seeing his portrait on the wall in his bedroom at Carisbrooke Castle and thinking that he didn’t look like the kind of bloke who should be kept prisoner. I wanted to know more about his story and that’s when my creativity burst out and I started looking into this man who had gone through such a hard period in history.”
Daniel began following in King Charles I’s footsteps, travelling hundreds of miles to places up and down the country, from Dunfermline Palace and Windsor Castle where he resided, to the Boars Head World Buffet restaurant in Birmingham which has a plaque on the wall stating he had spent the night in a coaching inn nearby. “I started going onto Google and looking at all different places he’d been,” said Daniel.
“People were quite gobsmacked really, because we are talking about hundreds of places. It’s taken me from the Isle of Wight all the way up to Dunfermline in Scotland where King Charles I was born.”
One day, Daniel’s good friend Dave Eaves, who had heard about his quest to retrace the king’s footsteps, invited him to Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire after he had discovered a medal which King Charles I had gifted to Sir Thomas Leigh. There, while Daniel was admiring a portrait of King Charles I by the famous Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, Dave pointed out his uncanny resemblance to the monarch.
“The portrait was so realistic that I could see his eyes twinkling and it looked like he was going to say ‘hello’ to me,” he said. “My friend asked me to stand in front of the portrait and turn my head to the side.
“He took a picture and was like ‘oh my God, you have the same profile as the person you’re following’.” From August 2018, Daniel set to work bringing King Charles I back to life.
“I thought what if I could recreate King Charles, take him around the country and help the world of heritage through my travels and draw attention to some of these buildings which no longer get noticed,” he said. “I started to look at his features and ordered a moustache and beard.
“Bit by bit, I learned about 17th century clothing and started to piece together all of the components – it took a hell of a lot of work.” Daniel then announced that he was going on a tour of the UK dressed as King Charles I.
He would drive, sometimes for hours, to visit historic places where the king had once set foot before getting into his outfit and entertaining fellow visitors who would often quiz him about his hero. But changing into his royal robes after driving for so long was not always an easy feat.
“Unfortunately,when you’re on the move as King Charles, you have to get changed in the car because you don’t have a dressing room,” he said. “Getting into costume can be really stressful because you’ve got to get the beard on and then the cape on, and the pressure is astronomical.
“It’s just straight out, straight into character, walking majestically and not giving any impression that you might be cream crackered from it.” Daniel’s royal outfit also attracts a lot of attention online, with some even mistaking him for a real king.
“One woman who was an old age pensioner contacted me and asked me to sort out the corruption in parliament,” he said. “I had to drop her the bombshell that I’m not the present king.”
He added: “I went to the local Wetherspoon’s in York and within a few seconds I was swamped by a load of ladies who were in my face. A king wouldn’t have had anybody that close.
“They had obviously had a few and then this big guy came up to me and was like ‘what are (you) dressed like that for?’.” While Daniel is regularly invited to attend historical events as King Charles I, he covers all of his own costs, which is something he hopes will change in the future.
“Basically I have never asked for a penny from the day I started doing this,” he said. “I’ve invested my own money and worked hard to get this going.
“I would hate to even think how much it’s cost me. I wear an ostrich feather which already costs £20.” The royal enthusiast has also started impersonating King Charles II, after expanding his royal repertoire on Restoration Day last year.
“The owner of the King Charles House in Worcester has asked me to come down and be part of the coronation celebrations,” he said. It’s going to be a momentous day.
“But my allegiance definitely lies with King Charles I.” For more information about Daniel’s next visit, his social media can be found at @kingcharlesireturn or @kingcharlesiirestored
