This diary is the only eye-witness account of the English Civil War by a participant on the King's side who was not an officer. The diarist, Richard Symonds, was a royal Lifeguardsman for the crucial two years of 1644-5, which included the battle of Naseby and the Royalist defeat. The value of his diaries to our understanding of the Civil War is considerable. It provides a distinctive picture of the face of battle in the Civil War, of the feelings of a sensitive and passionate follower of the King, and of the variety of military experience the war afforded. This 1998 reissue enhances Symond's diary by placing it in a rich historical context for the first time, and adds a great deal of material supplied by recent historical scholarship. This book will be invaluable to scholars and students of the English Civil War, as well as to local historians, war-gamers and Civil War re-enactors.