Black Country man discovers local links to King Charles II

Graham Payne, a social campaigner from Pelsall, has used his interest in genealogy to find out details about a Walsall woman who helped King Charles in the aftermath of the Battle of Worcester.

He also sent a painting of Captain Nicholas Tattersall, the man who smuggled the king to France, and details of the King’s direct links to Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.

This has subsequently led to the Duke, who is a descendent of Henry Fitzroy, First Duke of Grafton and a son of King Charles II, sending him a letter of thanks.

The battle of Worcester in 1651 saw the king’s Royalist forces defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s army and led to the king escaping Walsall, where he hid at Bentley Hall before escaping to Brighton and on to France.

He was assisted in his escape from Walsall by Jane Lane, who accompanied the king to France and who, according to Graham, was wrong stated as being buried in Leicestershire.

The 73-year-old said: “I like to do my searches properly and I am very thorough.”