Charles II (29 May 1630-6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (on the death of his father) or 29 May 1660 (the restoration of the monarchy ) until his death.
He was the second but first surviving son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, and was born in St. James's Palace on 29 May 1630.
His father Charles I had been executed in 1649, following the English Civil War; and England (also Scotland and Ireland at a later date) became a United Republic under Oliver Cromwell.
In May, 1660, the monarchy was restored and Charles II returned to London on the 29th of May 1660 - his thirtieth birthday, after many years of living in exile in France, Holland (his sister Mary was married to the Prince of Orange) and other countries in Europe.
The cannon in the Tower of London signalled to Londoners that their King had returned and people took to the flower strewn streets of London and danced for joy. Many of the liberties and pastimes that had been denied to people during the Commonwealth years, reappeared and there was much rejoicing when the Coronation took place on St. George's Day, 23 April 1661 in Westminster Abbey.
A complete set of coronation regalia had to be made because the old regalia had been broken up and sold during the Commonwealth period.
Charles was perhaps the most attractive of all our kings; he had inherited his dark good looks from his mother, abundant Stuart charm from his father and his strong sexuality from his maternal grandfather, Henry of Navarre.
He was intelligent and shrewd and was popularly known as the 'Merry Monarch' because of his unbridled pursuit of pleasure. Pepy's commented that the King "hates the very sight or thought of business". But, Charles proved to be an astute ruler and the Earl of Rochester's remark that "he never said a foolish thing and never did a wise one one", is on the whole, untrue.
Although he was married, Charles' wife Queen Catherine was unable to produce an heir but he publicly acknowledged fourteen illegitimate children by seven mistresses; six of whom were borne by a single woman, the notorious Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine.
Another of his favourites was the French Louise de Keroualle but it was the actress and orange seller, Nell Gwynne whom Charles met in 1668, who retained his friendship and affection for 17 years until his death.
It is said that his last words to his brother as he lay on his deathbed were "Let not poor Nelly starve".
His children were given titles by their father and the present Dukes of Buccleuch, Richmond, St Albans and Grafton derive their origin from Charles II.
He did, however, find time for other sports and patronages and regularly spent time hunting, hawking, playing tennis and visiting Newmarket where he kept a stable of Arab horses and indulged his love of racing. The King was a patron of the arts and the London theatres reopened by Charles performed plays by authors such as John Dryden and William Congreve who were noted for their bawdy and licentious scripts.
Charles also helped to found the Royal Society, a scientific group whose early members included Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepy's and Prince Rupert.
He became the personal patron of Sir Christopher Wren, the architect who helped rebuild London after the Great Fire in 1666.
Charles II was skilled at managing the Parliament of England, so much so that Charles is still considered by some as one of England's greatest kings. Although, pleasure was high on his agenda, he proved himself capable of decisive and sometimes unpopular action in his 25 year reign.
In the choice of his successor, Charles never faltered in his support for his brother and heir, even though James, Duke of York, was a Catholic and unacceptable to the Protestant majority.
It is said that when Charles was dying, a priest, Father John Huddleston, was summoned to his bedside so that he could receive the last rites of the Catholic church.
He suffered an apparent stroke (the real cause of his death is thought to have been uraemia) and died on Wednesday, 6 February 1685.
Charles was buried in Westminster Abbey with Anglican rites and a full-length wax effigy was carried at his funeral.
Charles was succeeded by his brother, the Duke of York, who became James II in England and Ireland, and James VII in Scotland.
Trivia
It is worth noting that Diana, Princess of Wales was descended from two of Charles' illegitimate sons, the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of Richmond (who is also a distant ancestor of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales).
Charles II was the last sovereign to have an effigy carried at his funeral and the wax figure, wearing the oldest set of Garter Robes in England, is still on display in Westminster Abbey's museum.
Entertainment in Restoration London included the theatre, cockfighting, gambling, billiards and a new game called Pall Mall (which later gave its name to a London Street) which was a form of croquet. Coffee houses were extremely popular and other diversions were found in the countless taverns and flourishing London brothels in and around Drury Lane.
Londoners amused themselves by holding a "Frost Fair"on the frozen River Thames in the winter of 1683-4, where bull-baiting, coach races, puppet plays and other amusements were staged.
"We are accustomed to regard the Reign of Charles II. as one of the most inglorious periods of English History; but this was far from being the case. It is true that the extravagance and profligacy of the Court were carried to a point unknown before or since, forming,--by the indignation they excited among the people at large,--the main cause of the overthrow of the House of Stuart. But, on the other hand, the nation made extraordinary advances in commerce
and wealth, while the valour of our sailors was as conspicuous under the Dukes of York and Albemarle, Prince Rupert and the Earl ofSandwich, as it had been under Blake himself, and their victories resulted in transferring the commercial as well as the naval supremacy of Holland to this country. In spite of the cruel blows inflicted on the well-being of the country, alike by the extravagance of the Court, the badness of the Government, the Great Plague, and the destruction of London by fire, an extraordinary extension of our trade occurred during the reign of Charles II.
Such a period, therefore, although its brilliancy was marred by dark shadows, cannot be considered as an inglorious epoch. It was ennobled by the bravery of our sailors, by the fearlessness with which the coalition of France with Holland was faced, and by the spirit of enterprise with which our merchants and traders seized the opportunity, and, in spite of national misfortunes, raised England in the course of a few years to the rank of the greatest commercial power in the world."
(G. A. HENTY.)
See full page feature of Henry VIII, Henry VIII and his Six Wives
Try a free London Guided Walk Around St James's and see the London Park that was a great favourite with Charles II - it was where he would stroll with Nell Gwynne.
