The Heads of Proposals was a set of propositions intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the First English Civil War.
[1] The authorship of the Proposals has been the subject of scholarly debate, although it has been suggested that it was drafted in the summer of 1647 by Commissary-General Henry Ireton and Major-General John Lambert.
It demanded the Newcastle propositions that included accepting the covenant, installing a Presbyterian form of church government, giving Parliament control of the Army for 20 years, and turn over key supporters for punishment.
As part of these negotiations, the army agreed to draft a series of proposals, laying out their blueprint for settling the kingdom and ending the strife of the Civil War.
Also present at the Reading Debates on the Heads was a delegation of the army's most strenuous allies from London (including the future Levellers John Wildman, William Walwyn, and Maximilian Petty).
[7] On August 1, after a final set of edits to address the king's objections, the army council approved a completed draft of the "Heads of the Proposals."
In his reply to their propositions, the King, on 14 September, expressed a preference for the Proposals of the Army, as more conducive "to the satisfaction of all interests and a fitter foundation for a lasting peace".