'An Interview between Charles I and Oliver Cromwell' by Daniel Maclise

In this imagined historical scene, the large, stern figure of English political and military leader Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) watches a tender moment between King Charles I and his children. Cromwell described himself as someone who was both too excessive in his affections and desires, and also often beset by imaginary dangers.

In the nineteenth century, Cromwell’s mental illness was diagnosed as ‘hypochondriasis’ and ascribed to ‘living in low marshy country’. There was also much evidence of his manic states, including one incident at the signing of the death warrant for King Charles I during which Cromwell and a friend began ‘inking one another’s faces like school boys’.