The image below is the battle flag flown by Horatio Cary’s Regiment of Horse during the Second English Civil War.
The “Come out you cuckold” is a reference to the Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex’s very public marital problems.
Essex was married at age 13 to the 14-year-old Frances Howard; he was then sent on a European tour from 1607 to 1609, apparently without having consummated the marriage. Meanwhile, his wife began an affair with Robert Carr, Viscount Rochester, a favourite of King James I. After Essex’s return, Frances sought an annulment on the grounds of impotence. Essex claimed that he was only impotent with her and had been perfectly capable with other women, adding that she “reviled him, and miscalled him, terming him a cow and coward, and beast.” The divorce was a public spectacle and it made Essex a laughing-stock at court.
