Charles I was king of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles' attempts to impose an absolute monarchy in England against the interests of Parliament and the landed gentry, along with his apparent sympathies with Roman Catholicism, made him highly unpopular among large segments of English society. His actions sparked a civil war against the forces of Parliament in 1642 that eventually led to his downfall. The war ended with his execution for high treason, the abolition of the monarchy, and the institution of a military dictatorship under the rule of the puritanical Oliver Cromwell: the monarchy was later restored after Cromwell's death by Charles' son, Charles II of England.