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Charles II ( 29 May 1630– 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. Charles II's father, Charles I, had been executed in 1649 following the English Civil War; the monarchy was then abolished and replaced with a military dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell. In 1660, shortly after Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored under Charles II. Unlike his father, Charles II was skilled at managing Parliament. It was during his reign that the Whig and ToryThe term Tory derives from the Tory Party the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. To this day it is often used as a shortened alternative for Conservative. A similar usage for Tory exists in Canada to describe the Conservative Party. It was also political parties developed. He famously fathered numerous illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged fourteen. Known as the "Merry Monarch," Charles was a patron of the arts and less restrictive than many of his predecessors. By converting to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed, Charles II became the first Roman Catholic to reign over England since Mary IMary I ( 18 February 1516 17 November 1558) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 de jure or 19 July 1553 de facto until her death. Mary, the fourth and penultimate monarch of the Tudor dynasty, is remembered for her attempt to return's death in 1558Events January 7 French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Therme.
1 Early life
Charles, the eldest son of Charles I of England and Henrietta MariaHenrietta Maria Henrietta Maria ( November 25, 1609 September 10, 1669) was Queen Consort of England, Scotland and Ireland ( June 13, 1625 January 30, 1649) through her marriage to Charles I. state of Maryland (in Latin, "Terra Maria") was so named in her, was born in St James's PalaceSt James's Palace is one of London's oldest and most historic palaces. It is situated on The Mall in London, England, just north of St James's Park. St James's palace was the principal residence of the monarch in London from 1698, when Whitehall Palace wa on 29 May 1630. At birth, he automatically became (as the eldest son of the Sovereign) Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay; shortly after his birth, he was created Prince of Wales. Due to the disruption caused by the English Civil War, he was never formally invested with the Honours of the Principality of Wales.
During the 1640s, when the Prince of Wales was still young, Charles I fought parliamentary and Puritan forces in the English Civil War. The Prince of Wales accompanied his father during the Battle of Edgehill and, at the age of fifteen, participated in the battles of 1645. In 1646, his father, fearing for his safety, ordered him to go to France. He had an affair with Lucy Walter (who, some alleged, secretly married him); their son, James Scott (afterwards Duke of Monmouth and Duke of Buccleuch), was the only one of Charles II's bastards who would later play a significant part in politics.
Charles I was captured by the rebels in 1647, escaped, and was recaptured in 1648. Despite his son's efforts to save him, Charles I was executed in 1649, and England was proclaimed a republic. At the same time, however, much of Scotland remained loyal to the royalist cause. On 5 February 1649, Charles II was proclaimed King of Scots in Edinburgh, on the understanding that he would agree to the Solemn League and Covenant (an agreement between England and Scotland that the Church of Scotland should not be remodelled on Anglican lines but should remain Presbyterian, the form of church governance preferred by most in Scotland, and that the Church of England and the Church of Ireland should be reformed along the same lines). Upon his arrival in Scotland on 23 June 1650, he formally agreed to the Covenant; his abandonment of Anglicanism, although winning him support in Scotland, left him unpopular in England. He was crowned King of Scots at Scone, Perthshire on 1 January 1651, and mounted an attack on England, then under the military dictator Oliver Cromwell. The invasion ended in defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, following which Charles is said to have hidden in the Royal Oak at Boscobel House, subsequently escaping to France in disguise.
Impoverished, Charles could not obtain sufficient support to mount a serious challenge to Cromwell's government. France and the United Provinces allied themselves with Cromwell's government, forcing Charles to turn to Spain for aid. He attempted to raise an army, but failed due to his financial shortcomings.
