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 eldest 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 1660, the monarchy was restored and Charles II returned to London on the 25th of May 1660, after many years of living in exile in France, Holland 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 and danced for joy. Many of the liberties and pastimes that had been denied to people during the Commonwealth years, reappeared. Charles was charming, 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".
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".
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 died on Wednesday, 6 February 1685 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 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).
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 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 st
