In the history of England, Cromwell was a very special being, who became "not a king but more powerful than a king" because he pioneered the "protectorate" system. The reason why later generations were mostly interested in Cromwell was to focus on his title of "Protector", before and after Cromwell, neither Britain nor the rest of the world had the title of "Protector", which can be said to be Cromwell's original creation. Judging from Cromwell's later performance, the power of the "Protector" is simply too great, even compared with the king and the emperor, but in such an era full of kings, Cromwell can change the dynasty, why not simply wear the crown?
There are many answers, perhaps the Puritan hated the title of "king" in his heart, perhaps his exalted banner of opposition to the monarchy cut off his own way of "becoming king", or perhaps the British political arena at that time did not allow him to ascend to the throne. However, one of the many explanations that is often overlooked but crucial is that under the British tradition of restricting the power of the monarch, the world generally knows what the king can and cannot do, but no one knows what the protector can and cannot do. In other words, "Protector" is just a title, the essence of which is that its power boundaries are much greater than those of "king", and this is the main reason why Cromwell did not want to ascend the throne.
Seventeenth-century England gradually showed the power of the bourgeoisie, and now the royal family was in financial crisis due to various expenditures, and in order to alleviate the financial pressure, King Charles I advocated taxation of peasants and capitalists, but this move was strongly resisted by Parliament. Unlike in the East, the concentration of royal power was far less intense than that of hereditary monarchs in Asia, especially in a country like Britain, where the power of the king was greatly constrained by parliament. In 1639, when the rebellious Scottish army invaded England, the royal family was repeatedly frustrated by the inability to raise military funds, and charles I had to reach a temporary armistice with the rebels, but had to pay the Scots 850 pounds a day before signing a formal peace treaty.
However, charles I could not get even a little money, and the king had no choice but to restart the long-dissolved parliament, which became the beginning of the English Civil War. The royal family and parliament, which could not agree on the issue of taxation, finally broke up, and each side organized its own army to solve the problem by force. In terms of the comparison of strength, the parliamentary side can be said to have the advantage, because the bourgeoisie has the money bag, and most of the areas they control are economically developed and rich in products, and the early parliamentary army has more than 6,000 people. In contrast, the Royal Party faction is much more pitiful, and due to financial difficulties, the number of the Royal Party army is only one-third of the parliamentary army, about 2,000 people. However, at the beginning of the war, the king's army was victorious in successive battles, and it was difficult for the parliament to bargain on the battlefield.
The reason is very simple, although the parliament is large, but lack of training, officers are generally not high quality, and the Royal Army is a professional soldier who has been fighting for many years, but Cromwell's appearance soon reversed the tide of the war. In 1645, Parliament authorized Cromwell to form the "New Model Army", which eventually became the most powerful armed force in the British Isles. Relying on the New Model Army, Cromwell not only annihilated the Royal Army, but even established a military dictatorship centered on himself. In 1649, Cromwell executed Charles I in the name of parliament and army, and when everyone thought that Cromwell, who had monopolized power, was going to be crowned king, he gave himself the title of "Protector".
The situation did evolve as mentioned earlier, with the populace knowing what constraints the king's power was subject to, but not how to limit the power of the protector, and Cromwell had become the de facto monarch. Cromwell's enthronement as "Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland" was comparable to the coronation of a king, and in everyday life the people around him also called him "His Majesty", and even designated his own son to succeed him as "Protector II" on his deathbed. However, the opposite happened, the Stuart dynasty was successfully restored, Cromwell's body was dug out of the grave and humiliated, and the legend of a generation of heroes came to an end.