Charles I's journey from Oxford to the Scottish army camp near Newark

Charles I of England left Oxford on 27 April 1646 and travelled by a circuitous route through enemy held territory to arrive at the Scottish army camp located close to Southwell near Newark-on-Trent on 5 May 1646. He undertook this journey because military Royalism was all but defeated. It was only a matter of days before Oxford (the Royalist First English Civil War capital) would be fully invested and would fall to the English Parliamentarian New Model Army commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax (see Third Siege of Oxford). Once fully invested it was unlikely that Charles would be able to leave Oxford without being captured by soldiers of the New Model Army. Charles had been in contact with the various parties that were fielding armies against him seeking a political compromise. In late April he thought that the Scottish Presbyterian party were offering him the most acceptable terms, but to gain their protection and finalise an agreement Charles had to travel to the nearest Scottish army, and that was the one besieging the Royalist held city of Newark. Once he had arrived at his destination he was put under close guard in Kelham House.

Towards the end the First English Civil War, Charles I had continued to contact the parties that were opposed to him, hoping to split them apart and gain politically what he was losing militarily.

When it looked likely that the Royalists (Cavaliers) would lose the English Civil War, the Scots, who were then allied with the English Parliamentarians (Roundheads), looked to Cardinal Mazarin, by then the chief minister of France, for help in securing Charles I's position as king, but on terms acceptable to the Scots. In response, Mazarin appointed Jean de Montreuil (or Montereul) as French resident in Scotland. He was to act as a go-between and in doing so he was able to inform Cardinal Mazarin of the political machinations of the various parties in the civil war.

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