Early Life, Civil War, and Exile
– Charles II was born on May 29, 1630, in St James’s Palace.
– He was the eldest surviving son of Charles I, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII of France.
– Charles became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth.
– In the First English Civil War, Charles and his brother James were present at the Battle of Edgehill.
– After the Royalist forces were defeated, Charles went into exile, first to the Isles of Scilly, then to Jersey, and finally to France.
Restoration of the Monarchy
– After the death of Oliver Cromwell, the monarchy was restored in 1660.
– Charles returned to Britain on May 29, 1660, and was received in London with public acclaim.
– He became known for his affability and friendliness towards his subjects.
– Charles enacted the Clarendon Code to support the re-established Church of England.
– Despite favoring religious tolerance, he acquiesced to the new laws.
Foreign Policy and Alliances
– Charles entered into the Treaty of Dover in 1670, forming an alliance with his cousin King Louis XIV of France.
– Louis agreed to aid Charles in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and pay him a pension.
– In the Treaty of Dover, Charles secretly promised to convert to Catholicism at a later date.
– Charles attempted to introduce religious freedom for Catholics and Protestant dissenters with the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in 1672.
– The English Parliament forced him to withdraw the declaration.
The Exclusion Crisis and Political Parties
– The fabrication of the Popish Plot by Titus Oates in 1679 sparked the Exclusion Crisis.
– The crisis revealed that Charles’s brother and heir presumptive, James, had become a Catholic.
– The Whig and Tory parties emerged during the Exclusion Crisis.
– Charles sided with the Tories, and some Whig leaders were executed or forced into exile.
– Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681 and ruled alone until his death in 1685.
Illegitimate Children and Succession
– Charles’s marriage to Catherine of Braganza produced no surviving children.
– He acknowledged at least 12 illegitimate children by various mistresses.
– One of his illegitimate children, James Crofts, became Duke of Monmouth and Duke of Buccleuch.
– Charles was succeeded by his brother James after his death in 1685.
– Charles’s court gained a reputation for moral laxity. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
| Charles II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of England, Scotland and Ireland | |
| Reign | 29 May 1660 – 6 February 1685 |
| Coronation | 23 April 1661 |
| Predecessor | Charles I |
| Successor | James II |
| King of Scotland | |
| Reign | 30 January 1649 – 3 September 1651 |
| Coronation | 1 January 1651 |
| Predecessor | Charles I |
| Successor | Military government |
| Born | 29 May 1630 (N.S.: 8 June 1630) St James's Palace, Westminster, England |
| Died | 6 February 1685 (aged 54) (N.S.: 16 February 1685) Whitehall Palace, Westminster, England |
| Burial | 14 February 1685 Westminster Abbey, England |
| Spouse | |
| Illegitimate children detail... |
|
| House | Stuart |
| Father | Charles I of England |
| Mother | Henrietta Maria of France |
| Signature |  |
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Henrietta Maria of France. After Charles I's execution at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War, the Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II king on 5 February 1649. However, England entered the period known as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth, with a government led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, and Charles fled to mainland Europe. Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. The political crisis that followed Cromwell's death in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles was invited to return to Britain. On 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim. After 1660, all legal documents stating a regnal year did so as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649.
Charles's English parliament enacted the Clarendon Code, to shore up the position of the re-established Church of England. Charles acquiesced to these new laws even though he favoured a policy of religious tolerance. The major foreign policy issue of his early reign was the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In 1670, he entered into the Treaty of Dover, an alliance with his cousin King Louis XIV of France. Louis agreed to aid him in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and pay him a pension, and Charles secretly promised to convert to Catholicism at an unspecified future date. Charles attempted to introduce religious freedom for Catholics and Protestant dissenters with his 1672 Royal Declaration of Indulgence, but the English Parliament forced him to withdraw it. In 1679, Titus Oates's fabrication of a supposed Popish Plot sparked the Exclusion Crisis when it was revealed that Charles's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, had become a Catholic. The crisis saw the birth of the pro-exclusion Whig and anti-exclusion Tory parties. Charles sided with the Tories and, after the discovery of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles and James in 1683, some Whig leaders were executed or forced into exile. Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681 and ruled alone until his death in 1685.
Following his restoration, Charles became known for his affability and friendliness, and for allowing his subjects easy access to his person. However, he also showed an almost impenetrable reserve, especially concerning his political agendas. His court gained a reputation for moral laxity. Charles's marriage to Catherine of Braganza produced no surviving children, but the king acknowledged at least 12 illegitimate children by various mistresses. He was succeeded by his brother James.
