Oliver Cromwell's head was severed from his body in 1661, three years after his death and burial. The head was placed on a 20-foot (6.1 m) pole and displayed on the roof of Westminster Hall until at least 1684. Cromwell's body had been removed from Westminster Abbey, where it had been buried since he had died on 3 September 1658 of natural causes. Cromwell had been Lord Protector, the ruler of the Commonwealth of England, after the defeat and the beheading of King Charles I during the English Civil War. On his death, Cromwell was given a public funeral at Westminster Abbey as elaborate as those of the monarchs who had ruled before him. His position passed to his son Richard, but Richard was overthrown shortly thereafter, leading to the re-establishment of the monarchy under King Charles II, who had been living in exile in continental Europe.
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