King Charles ii
King Charles II had a tumultuous early life, to say the least. He was born 29 May 1630 to King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, originally of France. His father's marriage was unpopular with the country because Henrietta Maria was Catholic, and the King was the Head of the Church of England. Charles I personally believed in a form of High Anglicanism that was closer to Catholicism than much of England; he tried to push his religious beliefs on his subjects and wound up inciting the English Civil Wars.
By 1649 the wars were over and Charles I was executed. Charles II tried to diplomatically regain power, but he was unsuccessful and had to flee to France as Oliver Cromwell took control of England. This was a very dramatic escape; Parlimentarian troops were trying to hunt him down and he had to evade them by a number of outlandish methods, including disguising himself as a servant and spending a day in an oak tree. When France aligned itself with Cromwell, Charles fled to Holland.
Once Cromwell's son, Richard, succeeded him as Lord Protector, there was a political crisis over the fact that the younger Cromwell was simply incompetent. The Governor of Scotland marched troops into London and established a Parliament that was fairly balanced between Royalists and Parlimentarians. This new Parliament invited Charles to return, which he did in May of 1660. He quickly pardoned everyone except those who had signed his father's execution order.
With the Restoration, Charles II brought fun back to England. Under the Puritans, all forms of excess were banned, but Charles was a great lover of theatre, music, and sex. His courtiers were famous for their wit and style, as was he--but he is also remembered for his mistresses (he probably had at least 14; 7 bore him children, including Nell Gwynn and Thomas Killigrew's sister Elizabeth.).
Of course, Charles' reign was not all fun and games. In the mid-1660s, Charles faced two disasters in quick succession: the Great Plague of London in 1665, followed by the Great Fire of London the next year. He clashed with Parliament over his foreign policy and religion (like his father, Charles II married a Catholic). The religion problem was exacerbated by the lack of an heir (the Queen had four miscarriages or stillbirths), which meant that Charles' Catholic brother James was his heir presumptive. An Exclusion Bill was brought before Parliament in 1679, which would have eliminated James from the line of succession. However, the bill did not pass, and Charles died suddenly on 2 February 1685 (modern historians believe he was suffering from uraemia).
An excellent BBC Miniseries about Charles' life can be watched online here.
Sources: Merry Monarch by Hesketh Pearson, King Charles II in Encyclopedia Britannica, The Restoration of Charles II by Godfrey Davies
By 1649 the wars were over and Charles I was executed. Charles II tried to diplomatically regain power, but he was unsuccessful and had to flee to France as Oliver Cromwell took control of England. This was a very dramatic escape; Parlimentarian troops were trying to hunt him down and he had to evade them by a number of outlandish methods, including disguising himself as a servant and spending a day in an oak tree. When France aligned itself with Cromwell, Charles fled to Holland.
Once Cromwell's son, Richard, succeeded him as Lord Protector, there was a political crisis over the fact that the younger Cromwell was simply incompetent. The Governor of Scotland marched troops into London and established a Parliament that was fairly balanced between Royalists and Parlimentarians. This new Parliament invited Charles to return, which he did in May of 1660. He quickly pardoned everyone except those who had signed his father's execution order.
With the Restoration, Charles II brought fun back to England. Under the Puritans, all forms of excess were banned, but Charles was a great lover of theatre, music, and sex. His courtiers were famous for their wit and style, as was he--but he is also remembered for his mistresses (he probably had at least 14; 7 bore him children, including Nell Gwynn and Thomas Killigrew's sister Elizabeth.).
Of course, Charles' reign was not all fun and games. In the mid-1660s, Charles faced two disasters in quick succession: the Great Plague of London in 1665, followed by the Great Fire of London the next year. He clashed with Parliament over his foreign policy and religion (like his father, Charles II married a Catholic). The religion problem was exacerbated by the lack of an heir (the Queen had four miscarriages or stillbirths), which meant that Charles' Catholic brother James was his heir presumptive. An Exclusion Bill was brought before Parliament in 1679, which would have eliminated James from the line of succession. However, the bill did not pass, and Charles died suddenly on 2 February 1685 (modern historians believe he was suffering from uraemia).
An excellent BBC Miniseries about Charles' life can be watched online here.
Sources: Merry Monarch by Hesketh Pearson, King Charles II in Encyclopedia Britannica, The Restoration of Charles II by Godfrey Davies