The Merry Monarch, Charles II (1630–1685) was known for his raucous lifestyle, jovial wit, and pivotal role in British history. He was crowned in 1661, following the restoration of the monarchy, and helped steer his country back to stability after the violence and tumult of the English civil war.
Charles was born in London, the eldest son of King Charles I (1600–1649) and Queen Henrietta Maria (1609–1669). As a teenager, he fought on the royalist side during the civil war and was forced into exile in France after the defeat and execution of his father.
In 1650, he sailed to Scotland, hoping to rally opponents of Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), the victor in the civil war. The next year, after losing a battle against Cromwell’s forces, he famously hid in an oak tree to avoid capture. He made his way back to France, where he lived for most of the next decade.
After Cromwell’s death, England suffered through two years of chaos until Parliament, tiring of the political turmoil, invited Charles to return to the throne. His triumphant entrance into London on May 29, 1660—his thirtieth birthday—marked the beginning of the Restoration, a period of relative peace and stability.
Domestically, Charles forgave most of his father’s enemies. Charles also took a moderate stance on religious questions, opposing harsh measures against Roman Catholics. Under Charles, the strict Puritan laws passed under Cromwell were relaxed, allowing theaters to reopen and old customs like dancing around the Maypole to reappear.
Charles, though married to a Portuguese princess, was a prolific adulterer who fathered more than a dozen illegitimate children by a variety of women. He had no legitimate heirs; his brother, James II (1633–1701), would inherit the crown after his death. James was a Catholic, and thus unacceptable to many Protestants. He ruled for only three years before he was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution; thereafter, Parliament passed a law (still in force) excluding Catholics from the English throne.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Numerous settlements in the eastern United States were established during the reign of Charles II and are named in his honor. The list includes Charleston, South Carolina; Charlestown, Rhode Island; and both North and South Carolina.
- The late Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), was a descendant of several of Charles’s illegitimate children.
- Royal custom required that the Portuguese give Charles a dowry for marrying Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705). He received the city of Bombay, which would become one of the major outposts of the British Empire in India.
