How Charles II turned King of England (and the bed room)
Born at St James’s Palace on this day in 1630 with his father on the throne, Charles II started his life quietly compared to what was to come.
By the time he was 19, Charles I had been executed at the hands of Parliament and Oliver Cromwell was ruling with an iron fist after abolishing the monarchy.
After trying and failing to continue his father’s royalist battle in the English Civil War, Charles was forced to flee England.
Following his triumphant return and ascension to the throne in 1660, Charles famously took blood-soaked revenge on the men who had put his father to death.
He would go on to reign through the Great Fire of London and the major outbreak of the bubonic plague that preceded it.
And, along the way, he was known for a particularly active love life that saw him take a string of mistresses and produce 12 illegitimate children – but no legitimate heir.
King Charles II (pictured) was born at St James’s Palace on May 29, 1630 and was the eldest surviving son of Charles I
By the time Charles II (pictured with his siblings) was 19, his father Charles I had been executed. Above: Cahrles with his siblings James II and Henrietta
When Charles I was beheaded (pictured), Charles II had already made an escape and was living in the Netherlands while the monarchy in his motherland was being abolished
A dramatic return…and escape
By the time Charles I had been beheaded, his son had fled to the continent for the first time.
But in 1650, he landed in Scotland and was crowned at Scone, where the Covenanter Parliament of Scotland declared him King of Great Britain, France and Ireland.
Not everyone welcomed Charles’s return – particularly England – and his coronation led to further conflict.
After Charles’ forces were defeated at the Battle of Worcester, Charles had to flee again.
He spent weeks on the run in England, at one point famously hiding in a great oak tree at Boscobel House in Shropshire.
Its for this reason that hundreds of pubs across Britain are know called the Royal Oak.
After successfully evading Cromwell’s men, Charles made it to the relative safety of France.
He got his chance to return following Cromwell’s death in 1658. When Cromwell’s son Richard resigned as his successor, Parliament decided to restore the monarchy.
Charles II (pictured) was crowned at Scone in 1651 – with the Covenanter Parliament of Scotland declaring him King of Great Britain, France and Ireland
Charles II infamously avoided Oliver Cromwell’s hunt for him by climbing into a great oak tree at Boscobel House
His return to the throne
Charles II, now entering his thirties, came back with vengeance and sought justice for his late father’s untimely demise.
After being crowned, he was given a list – dubbed the ‘Kill List’ – of all the 104 people who were involved in the trial and execution of his father – including the 59 who had signed his death warrant.
King Charles II sentenced 19 people to a life of imprisonment and ordered that a further nine be hung, drawn and quartered.
Despite his blood-soaked revenge, Charles II became known as the ‘Merry Monarch’ due to his love of parties and entertainment.
The procession from the Tower of London to Westminster depicted on the eve of King Charles II’s coronation in 1661
After being crowned, he was given a list – dubbed the ‘Kill List’ – of all the 104 people who were involved in the trial and execution of his father – including the 59 who had signed Charles I’s death warrant (pictured)
His 15-year reign during the Stuart dynasty was almost as dramatic as his route to the throne.
In February 1665, London was hit with the last major outbreak of the bubonic plague and by July it had killed 100,000 people.
The following year saw the Great Fire of London, which ravaged much of the capital.
The Great Fire of London destroyed much of the English capital in 1666
How his penchant for the opposite sex led to his demise
The promiscuous Charles had a string of lovers throughout his life and these led to illegitimate children – 12 in total.
But he failed to produce an heir with his wife, the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza.
He lost his virginity to his former nanny Christballa Wyndham when he was 15 and she was in her late 30s.
Charles’ great love was Lucy Walter, a Welsh beauty who he met when he was in his late teens.
The promiscuous Charles had a string of lovers throughout his life and these led to illegitimate children – 12 in total. Above: George Sanders and Linda Darnell in the 1947 film Forever Amber
The relationship soon led to the birth of James, an illegitimate son, who later became the Duke of Monmouth.
The mistress who is best remembered today was Nell Gwyn. She was raised in a brothel and became an actress.
The King was so enraptured by her that he kept a naked portrait of her in a secret compartment in his bedroom.
However, Nell was prone to jealousy. Worried that she was losing the King’s affections to another actress, Moll Davis, she took drastic action.
She laced one of Moll’s cakes with an emetic, which made her soil the royal bed sheets and lose the King’s favour.
However, the King’s keen interest in his lovers ultimately caused him a lot of trouble.
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, bore Charles II several illegitimate children
Moll Davis, another of King Charles II’s mistresses. She was forced out by her rival Nell Gwynn
Artist Kitty Shannon’s depiction of King Charles II with his mistresses Nell Gwynn, Louise de Kérouaille and Hortense Mancini
When the Dutch trounced the English fleet in 1667, Charles was fiercely criticised for the money he had spent on another mistress, Barbara Palmer, rather than investing in the Navy.
Britain’s enemies were also aware of the King’s libido. France’s Louis XIV sent the beautiful Louise de Kérouaille to ensnare his rival.
Louis hoped that she would promote the interests of France and Catholicism while lying in the King’s bed.
It was on one debauched night with Louise and two other mistresses in February 1685 that the King ultimately came a cropper.
He fell seriously ill during the night and had to be treated by royal doctors. Instead of helping him, they unwittingly caused him great agony as they administered ‘cures’ which did nothing but damage.
The King died four days later, on February 6, 1685. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Leaving no heir, his brother James II succeeded the throne.
