The English revolution demolished almost all political landmarks. This
book describes how the republican state successfully restored the
dignity of civilian government by expressing its authority and
legitimacy through a range of imagery and symbolism. Individual chapters
focus on the occupation and revival of the abandoned royal palace of
Whitehall by members of the new regime; the public spectacle mounted to
celebrate its military victories; the ritual and ceremony with which it
dignified everyday politics; and the invention of a new state
iconography to replace familiar forms such as the crown and the royal
coat of arms. Finally, it reappraises the involvement of the army in the
politics of the period, questioning the conventional wisdom that
Commonwealth politics were polarised between 'court and camp'.