The episode begins in November 1648. King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland has already lost the Civil War. Only two men remain loyal to him: Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the sole descendant of the Blackadder dynasty at the time, and his servant Baldrick Esq (Tony Robinson). They have given refuge to the King in Blackadder Hall, where he is hiding in a thorn bush, having assured him that he is as likely to be caught "as a fox being chased by a pack of one-legged hunting tortoises". Sir Edmund remains loyal because as a known royalist he sees the King's survival as his only hope of survival. He also fears the spread of Puritanism, full of moral prohibitions (as he describes it, the Puritans will "close all the theatres, lace handkerchiefs for men will be illegal, and I won't have a friendly face to sit on this side of Boulogne!"). During Sir Edmund's short absence, Oliver Cromwell (Warren Clarke) himself arrives at Blackadder Hall, accompanied by a number of his Roundheads — supporters of the Parliament of England. Baldrick attempts to deny knowing the King's whereabouts, but blows the gaff when he asks Cromwell later to put down a cup, "because it's the king's".