“Monarchy returned mot because of its own strengths but because of the weaknesses of the regimes it replaced.”
Assess the validity of this view with reference to the years 1658 to 1660

Following the death of Oliver Cromwell England needed a ruler that could gain support of the army, who, since the execution of Charles I in 1649 had been the most influential groups in the country. The successor of Oliver was his son, Richard who seemingly did not possess the characteristics of his late father. The key to control of the country and the regimes following those of Oliver lay in whether a leader had the military prowess similar to that of Oliver. Furthermore the issue of whether monarchy came to power as a result of its own powers or due to the failures of various regimes that preceded it is only answered by taking into consideration the weaknesses of the regimes and the strengths of the monarchy.

Following the death of Oliver Cromwell, Richard Cromwell became Lord Protector under the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice. Unlike his father Richard found it difficult to keep a balance with the remands of the army, religious radicals and traditionalists. Due to the amount of power held by the army, the power of the Protector was dependent upon the army. The lower ranks of the army resented the fact that Richard was not a soldier; on the other hand the higher ranks supported such a leader mainly because they could easily manipulate him and use him to voice their views. It is therefore obvious that Richard was not as able as his father to control the army; this eventually led to the army demanding that Richard give up his position as Commander in- chief, which Richard refused. Furthermore factors such as arrears of pay and debt also got the better of the protector; such failures led Richard calling the Third Protectorate Parliament in 1659 to help raise finances.