A Monarch A Month - Charles II

Hi all!

Another month, another monarch. This month it's number 27, Charles II, enjoying a spot of downtime with a game of Real Tennis in, no doubt, the Real Tennis Courts he had refurbished at Hampton Court Palace:

Charles II from Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads

Started - 15th March 2021

Finished - 18th March 2021

Total stitching time - 5 hours 35 minutes

CHARLES II
Preceded by Charles I (father)

Succeeded by James II (brother)
Lived - 1630-1685

Reigned - 1660-1685
Married - Catherine of Braganza

Children - no surviving legitimate children but at least 12 illegitimate by 7 mistresses!

Charles II became King following the Restoration Of The Monarchy in 1660, 11 years after his father's execution.

With the exception of a short time in Scotland - where he famously hid in an oak tree to escape capture by Oliver Cromwell's army - Charles spent most of that time moving between France, Spain and the Netherlands.

In the 1660 Declaration Of Breda, Charles agreed to accept the crown, be lenient (except in the most extreme cases), tolerant and, unlike his father, rule alongside parliament.

He was a flamboyant and popular monarch - nicknamed The Merry Monarch - and reigned with relative stability, including through the 1665 Plague and 1666 Great Fire Of London.

He was fond of the arts, founding the Royal Observatory, the Royal Society and the Royal Hospital Chelsea for retired soldiers. The King Charles Spaniel was also named after him.

In his later years Charles became more tolerant of Catholicism but less lenient in general, authorising numerous executions, imprisonments and seizing of estates, often with dubious evidence.

The prospect of Charles' Catholic brother, James, succeeding to the throne resulted in the introduction of The Exclusion Bill (banning James from succeeding) and, as Parliament became divided, the formation of the first two 'political' parties - the anti-James Whigs and the pro-James Tories.

Charles then reneged on the Declaration of Breda by dissolving Parliament four times between 1679-1681 and ruling as an absolute monarch for his last four years.

He died in 1685, possibly from 'experimenting' with mercury, and, it is rumoured after becoming Catholic on his deathbed, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

So next month, the to-ing and fro-ing of religion and royalty continues with the succession of Catholic James II.

Take care,

Rachel x