(King Charles II), 1630-85

Exiled after the execution of his father and the failure of his attempts to regain the throne; finally invited to return as King Charles II after the collapse of the Cromwellian régime

Portrait of Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales

The eldest surviving son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles was born in St James' Palace, London, on 29 May 1630. In 1638, William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, was appointed the Prince's governor. His tutor was Dr Brian Duppa, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford,a protégé of Archbishop Laud.

The First Civil War erupted when Charles was 12 years old. Although he took the title Prince of Wales, he was never formally invested. He was made an honorary captain in the King's Horse Guards and was present at the battle of Edgehill (1642), where he had to be dissuaded from making a high-spirited charge at a troop of Roundhead cavalry. Charles accompanied the King either at Oxford or on campaign until March 1645 when he was appointed Captain-General of Royalist forces in the West. With his headquarters at Bristol, Charles nominally presided over a Council composed of moderate Royalists, including Lord Hopton and Sir Edward Hyde. During the final stages of the First Civil War, the Prince's Council struggled to coordinate the volatile commanders Sir Richard Grenville and Lord Goring until Fairfax led the New Model Army on its triumphant invasion of the West in 1645-6.

After the fall of Bristol in September 1645, the Prince withdrew into Cornwall. King Charles issued orders that he should escape to France to join Queen Henrietta Maria, but Hyde and others on the Prince's Council were concerned that the move would damage the Royalist cause because of the Queen's Catholicism. After Lord Hopton's defeat at Torrington in February 1646, the Prince and his Council sailed from Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly. A Parliamentarian fleet sent after them was providentially dispersed in a storm, after which the Prince went to Jersey. Finally, Charles overruled his Council and joined his mother at St Germain near Paris in June 1646. He remained there for two years at the expense of the French Court.

In the spring and early summer of 1648, uprisings in England and Wales signalled the beginning of the Second Civil War. Prince Charles moved to The Hague then took command of a fleet of ten warships that had defected to the Royalists, but his attempts to support the uprisings in East Anglia and Kent were thwarted. A Parliamentarian fleet confronted him off the River Medway in late August. The two fleets prepared for battle, but were driven apart by a sudden storm. Prince Charles sailed back to the Netherlands and retired to The Hague while his cousin Prince Rupert took over command of the Royalist fleet.

After the execution of King Charles I by the English Parliament in January 1649, Prince Charles was proclaimed King of Scotland in Edinburgh — on condition that he would sign the Covenant and undertake to enforce a Presbyterian religious settlement in England. Henrietta Maria and most English Royalists were opposed to an alliance with the Covenanters, but Charles' appeals to other European heads of state for military help against the new republican government of England came to nothing. A Scottish army was his only hope for regaining the English throne. In May 1650, Charles signed the Treaty of Breda in which he agreed to the Covenanters' terms, abandoned the loyal Marquis of Montrose and repudiated the Marquis of Ormond's treaty with the Irish. Charles landed in Scotland in June 1650.

Meanwhile, an English army commanded by Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and defeated the Scots at the battle of Dunbar (September 1650). Covenanters on the ruling Committee of Estates blamed the defeat on the lack of religious commitment shown by Charles and his followers. They demanded the removal of all former Engagers and "ungodly" Cavaliers from the army and from Charles' retinue. Charles attempted to overthrow the Covenanters in October 1650. The plot, known as "The Start", failed through Charles' last-minute indecision, but it helped to weaken the power of the extreme Kirk party on the Committee of Estates in favour of the Royalists and Engagers. Charles was crowned King of Scots at Scone on 1 January 1651.

With Cromwell's army tightening its grip on Scotland, Charles decided to lead his Scots-Royalist army into England. He marched from Scotland on 31 July 1651, but the expected uprising of English Royalists failed to materialise. Cromwell followed him south and gathered an overwhelming concentration of forces at Worcester, where Charles was decisively defeated on 3 September 1651. Charles' escape after the battle of Worcester became legendary. He evaded capture for six weeks, travelling in disguise, helped by loyal subjects and at one point hiding from Roundhead soldiers in the famous oak tree at Boscobel. He finally got away to France in mid-October.

"The Escape of Charles Stuart After Worcester" article by Chris Modd [offsite]

Charles rejoined his mother in exile at the palace of the Louvre in Paris. Reliant upon a pension granted by the government of France and surrounded by a group of quarrelsome advisors, Charles became gloomy and withdrawn. His liasons with women from among the English exiles produced several illegitimate children. Sir Edward Hyde struggled to direct Royalist policy for regaining the throne of England, while Henrietta Maria concentrated on trying to convert Charles and his supporters to Catholicism. Numerous schemes to gain foreign help and plots against the Commonwealth and Protectorate came to nothing.

By 1654, Cromwell was negotiating with Cardinal Mazarin of France for an alliance against Spain. For diplomatic reasons, Charles and his followers were obliged to leave Paris. They settled in Cologne, then moved to Bruges in the Spanish Netherlands when war between Spain and the Protectorate looked inevitable. During the Anglo-Spanish War, the exiled Royalists raised an army of 3,000 to help the Spanish defend Flanders against an Anglo-French invasion, with Charles' brother James, Duke of York (later James II), among its commanders.

Charles was finally invited to return to England when the death of Oliver Cromwell and the collapse of the Protectorate resulted in political turmoil in England. Calls for the restoration of the Monarchy were given military backing by General Monck. Charles was declared rightful King of England by the newly-elected Convention Parliament on 8 May 1660. He landed at Dover on 23 May and entered London on 29 May. His coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 23 April 1661.

The Restoration became a recognisable period of English history, characterised by the rebuilding of London after the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. The moral laxity associated with the Restoration Court stands in marked contrast to the sobriety of Charles I's reign and the Cromwellian régime.



	(King Charles II), 1630-85 Exiled after the execution of his father and the failure of his attempts to regain the throne; finally invited to return as King Charles II after the collapse of the Cromwellian régime The eldest surviving son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles was born in St James' Palace, London, on 29 May 1630. In 1638, William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, was appointed the Prince's governor. His tutor was Dr Brian Duppa, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford,a protégé of Archbishop Laud. The First Civil War erupted when Charles was 12 years old. Although he took the title Prince of Wales, he was never formally invested. He was made an honorary captain in the King's Horse Guards and was present at the battle of Edgehill (1642), where he had to be dissuaded from making a high-spirited charge at a troop of Roundhead cavalry. Charles accompanied the King either at Oxford or on campaign until March 1645 when he was appointed Captain-General of Royalist forces in the West. With his headquarters at Bristol, Charles nominally presided over a Council composed of moderate Royalists, including Lord Hopton and Sir Edward Hyde. During the final stages of the First Civil War, the Prince's Council struggled to coordinate the volatile commanders Sir Richard Grenville and Lord Goring until Fairfax led the New Model Army on its triumphant invasion of the West in 1645-6. After the fall of Bristol in September 1645, the Prince withdrew into Cornwall. King Charles issued orders that he should escape to France to join Queen Henrietta Maria, but Hyde and others on the Prince's Council were concerned that the move would damage the Royalist cause because of the Queen's Catholicism. After Lord Hopton's defeat at Torrington in February 1646, the Prince and his Council sailed from Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly. A Parliamentarian fleet sent after them was providentially dispersed in a storm, after which the Prince went to Jersey. Finally, Charles overruled his Council and joined his mother at St Germain near Paris in June 1646. He remained there for two years at the expense of the French Court. In the spring and early summer of 1648, uprisings in England and Wales signalled the beginning of the Second Civil War. Prince Charles moved to The Hague then took command of a fleet of ten warships that had defected to the Royalists, but his attempts to support the uprisings in East Anglia and Kent were thwarted. A Parliamentarian fleet confronted him off the River Medway in late August. The two fleets prepared for battle, but were driven apart by a sudden storm. Prince Charles sailed back to the Netherlands and retired to The Hague while his cousin Prince Rupert took over command of the Royalist fleet. After the execution of King Charles I by the English Parliament in January 1649, Prince Charles was proclaimed King of Scotland in Edinburgh — on condition that he would sign the Covenant and undertake to enforce a Presbyterian religious settlement in England. Henrietta Maria and most English Royalists were opposed to an alliance with the Covenanters, but Charles' appeals to other European heads of state for military help against the new republican government of England came to nothing. A Scottish army was his only hope for regaining the English throne. In May 1650, Charles signed the Treaty of Breda in which he agreed to the Covenanters' terms, abandoned the loyal Marquis of Montrose and repudiated the Marquis of Ormond's treaty with the Irish. Charles landed in Scotland in June 1650. Meanwhile, an English army commanded by Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and defeated the Scots at the battle of Dunbar (September 1650). Covenanters on the ruling Committee of Estates blamed the defeat on the lack of religious commitment shown by Charles and his followers. They demanded the removal of all former Engagers and "ungodly" Cavaliers from the army and from Charles' retinue. Charles attempted to overthrow the Covenanters in October 1650. The plot, known as "The Start", failed through Charles' last-minute indecision, but it helped to weaken the power of the extreme Kirk party on the Committee of Estates in favour of the Royalists and Engagers. Charles was crowned King of Scots at Scone on 1 January 1651. With Cromwell's army tightening its grip on Scotland, Charles decided to lead his Scots-Royalist army into England. He marched from Scotland on 31 July 1651, but the expected uprising of English Royalists failed to materialise. Cromwell followed him south and gathered an overwhelming concentration of forces at Worcester, where Charles was decisively defeated on 3 September 1651. Charles' escape after the battle of Worcester became legendary. He evaded capture for six weeks, travelling in disguise, helped by loyal subjects and at one point hiding from Roundhead soldiers in the famous oak tree at Boscobel. He finally got away to France in mid-October. "The Escape of Charles Stuart After Worcester" article by Chris Modd [offsite] Charles rejoined his mother in exile at the palace of the Louvre in Paris. Reliant upon a pension granted by the government of France and surrounded by a group of quarrelsome advisors, Charles became gloomy and withdrawn. His liasons with women from among the English exiles produced several illegitimate children. Sir Edward Hyde struggled to direct Royalist policy for regaining the throne of England, while Henrietta Maria concentrated on trying to convert Charles and his supporters to Catholicism. Numerous schemes to gain foreign help and plots against the Commonwealth and Protectorate came to nothing. By 1654, Cromwell was negotiating with Cardinal Mazarin of France for an alliance against Spain. For diplomatic reasons, Charles and his followers were obliged to leave Paris. They settled in Cologne, then moved to Bruges in the Spanish Netherlands when war between Spain and the Protectorate looked inevitable. During the Anglo-Spanish War, the exiled Royalists raised an army of 3,000 to help the Spanish defend Flanders against an Anglo-French invasion, with Charles' brother James, Duke of York (later James II), among its commanders. Charles was finally invited to return to England when the death of Oliver Cromwell and the collapse of the Protectorate resulted in political turmoil in England. Calls for the restoration of the Monarchy were given military backing by General Monck. Charles was declared rightful King of England by the newly-elected Convention Parliament on 8 May 1660. He landed at Dover on 23 May and entered London on 29 May. His coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 23 April 1661. The Restoration became a recognisable period of English history, characterised by the rebuilding of London after the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. The moral laxity associated with the Restoration Court stands in marked contrast to the sobriety of Charles I's reign and the Cromwellian régime.