Charles II of England
Charles II of England
800px-King_Charles_II_by_John_Michael_Wright_or_studio%20%281%29.jpg
Style King of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Reign 1649 – 1685
Predecessor Richard Cromwell
Successor James II of England
Born 29 May 1630
Location St James's Palace, Westminster, England
Died 6 February 1685 (aged 69)
Location Whitehall Palace, London
Buried 14 February 1685
Location Westminster Abbey, England
Father Charles I of England
Mother Henrietta Maria of France
House House of Stuart

Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, and king of England, Scotland and Ireland from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 until his death.

Biography

Early life
Prince Charles was the king's eldest son. As a little boy, he was made Prince of Wales as a sign that he would one day be king. By the time he grew into a young man, his father was already at war with Parliament in the English Civil War. Prince Charles did not take much part in the fighting. His mother, Henrietta Maria, was French, and she took her children to France when the war broke out, to keep them safe. Prince Charles was only eighteen when he heard that his father was dead. This made him King, and he started calling himself King Charles II immediately, but Parliament was still in control of Britain and would not let him take his throne.

The King's escape
In 1651, Charles II returned to Britain and fought Parliament at the Battle of Worcester. He was defeated, but he was not caught by the enemy because he hid in an oak tree. Later, he was forced to disguise himself as a servant. A young lady called Jane Lane helped him to escape, and he sailed to Holland where his supporters were. He kept his own royal court there until 1660.

The Restoration
While Charles was in Holland, Britain was being ruled by Oliver Cromwell, an ordinary man who had been chosen as leader of the country by Parliament. Cromwell was very strict, so the people soon grew tired of him. When Cromwell died in 1658, his son Richard was chosen to be the next leader. Richard Cromwell was ineffective, and King Charles II was asked to come back and rule Britain.

In 1660, Charles II was brought back to Britain and took his throne. This was the English Restoration. Many of his enemies were punished for having executed his father and fought against him, but Richard Cromwell was allowed to go and live quietly away from London. Charles was popular and was called "The Merry Monarch" because he changed many laws that Cromwell had made and allowed people more freedom to enjoy themselves. He liked to go to the theatre, play cards and enjoy sports such as horse racing. Some people thought that a king should be more serious and not spend so much time and money on fun.

There were also some people who did not like King Charles II because of his religious beliefs. He had been brought up by his mother, who was Roman Catholic, while most people in the country were Protestant. He married a princess from Portugal, Catherine of Braganza. They did not have any children, but Charles refused to divorce Catherine. Before he was married, he had several girlfriends and lovers, and even after he was married he went on having lovers, who were called "mistresses". The most famous was an actress called Nell Gwyn. Several of Charles's lovers had babies, but none of these children were allowed to follow Charles as king, because they were "bastards", meaning that they had been born to parents who were not married to each other.

The most popular of Charles II's children was James Scott. Charles gave him the title Duke of Monmouth. James's mother had been Charles's girlfriend when he was living in Holland, and some people said that they had been secretly married. If this had been true, then James would have been allowed to be king when Charles died. There were many who wanted this to happen, because they did not like the thought of Charles's younger brother being the next king. This brother, who was also called James, was a Roman Catholic and was not popular.

Charles II died quite suddenly, and his son James, Duke of Monmouth, started a rebellion in the hope of becoming the next king. He was defeated by the royal army, which supported Charles's brother James. The Duke of Monmouth was executed by having his head chopped off, and Charles's brother became the next ruler, King James II.

Source

  1. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England
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