Writing this short biography has been a hugely enjoyable experience and I am grateful to Simon Winder for providing me with this opportunity and to Peter Robinson for its facilitation. At Penguin, I am grateful for the editorial expertise and assistance of Maria Bedford, Anna Hervé, Cecilia Mackay and Kate Parker. I am likewise indebted to Will Ferguson, Mark Goldie, Susanna Mitchell and William O’Reilly, who read this book in draft, while Amy Blakeway and Ian Campbell provided assistance with translations. Charles II: The Star King was commissioned shortly after completing The Stuarts series for BBC2 and I am warmly appreciative of the intellectual and creative stimulation provided by, among others, Richard Downes, Neil McDonald and Colin Murray at BBC Scotland. The fact that this biography was written during university term time, while serving as Trinity Hall’s Senior Tutor, was only possible with practical assistance from my PA, Julie Powley, and a dedicated tutorial office team within college. In May 1664, an ‘afternoon playing the good husband’ was deemed sufficiently unusual for Charles II to record its occurrence in a letter to his sister Henriette. For my part, since time spent with Charles inevitably meant repeated absences from home, I am deeply grateful to Mark and Julius for their cheerful tolerance and unstinting encouragement. Additional thanks are due to Julius for helpfully pointing out the close physical resemblance between Charles and J. M. Barrie’s Captain Hook.