Restoration of the Monarchy
King Charles (I, II, & III)
Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, the oldest son of the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II, is now King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He is a constitutional monarch with limited powers.
Monarchs used to have absolute power. The evolution to a constitutional monarch started over 800 years ago with the Magna Carta, which, among other clauses, required the King to seek parliamentary approval for new taxes. This series of entries covers the evolution of the British Monarchy.
Charles II in Exile
The British Civil Wars resulted in the temporary end of the Monarchy, and the death of his father, Charles I, in 1649. Charles II escaped to Europe.
Return to England as King
After Oliver Cromwell’s death, his son Richard Cromwell took over as Lord. With the country divided between pro and anti-royalists, and between Catholics and Protestants, Richard found he had little support from any faction, and resigned nine months after becoming Lord Protector. A Scottish army, intent on restoring the Monarchy, invaded against little opposition, reaching London.
The army restored supporters of the Monarchy to Parliament. Charles II issued the ‘Declaration of Breda,’ which pardoned those who opposed the Monarchy during the English Civil War – except for those who committed regicide against his father. He also promised religious toleration. Parliament then passed a resolution that government “ought to be by King, Lords, and Commons,” inviting Charles to return and claim the crown.
Parliament established Oak Apple Day (Restoration Day) on May 29 to celebrate the restoration of the Monarchy. King Charles II supposedly made his escape during the Civil War by hiding behind an oak tree. Although Parliament repealed the act in 1859, about 200 years later, scattered observations still occur today.
Religious Conflict
Religious conflict continued during this period between Catholicism and Protestantism. Dating back to the English Reformation under King Henry VIII, England officially was a Protestant nation under the Anglican Church. Conflict occurred over religious freedom and tolerance given to the people and practices of Catholicism.
During this time in Europe, it seemed like everyone was fighting everyone else. Catholic Spain fought Protestant Holland. Catholic France fought Catholic Spain. England periodically supported one side or another. In 1670, King Charles signed the ‘Secret Treaty of Dover.’ In the treaty, Charles agreed to support France in its war against the Dutch and to convert to Catholicism at some future date. In return, Charles received substantial funds from France and a promise from France to send troops in case of a rebellion against him.
The treaty was not published until 1771, about 100 years later. No doubt the British people would have been outraged had they known of Charles’s promise to become a Catholic.
In 1672, Charles issued the ‘Declaration of Indulgence,’ which extended religious tolerance to Catholics and Protestants who did not follow the Church of England. However, one year later, in 1673, Parliament forced Charles to withdraw this declaration and replaced it with the ‘Test Acts.’ These acts created a religious test for those seeking public office. In essence, only members of the Church of England were allowed to hold public office. One clause, for example, stated, “[I] do declare that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in the elements of the bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever.” This act may be one reason the U.S. Constitution, in Article VI, states, “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Restoration Comedy
Prior to Charles’s restoration, the Puritans had banned English theater. For example, the mayor of London in 1597 stated, “Plays are a special cause of corrupting the youth, containing nothing but unchaste matters, lascivious devices, … and other lewd and ungodly practices.”
And William Prynne wrote an anti-play book, 1,000 pages long (!) called ‘Histriomasitx’, published in 1632. He says, “That popular stage-playes ... are sinfull, heathenish, lewde, ungodly spectacles, and most pernicious corruptions; condemned in all ages, as intolerable mischiefes to churches, to republickes, to the manners, mindes, and soules of men. And that the profession of play-poets, of stage-players; together with the penning, acting, and frequenting of stage-playes, are unlawfull, infamous and misbeseeming Christians.”
The ban was lifted during Charles’s restoration. The resulting theater productions became known for satire, social criticism, sexual innuendo, and complex plots. Women now appeared as actresses (previously female roles were filled by men). They are smutty, even by today’s standards. This genre became known as Restoration Comedy. And, sure enough, one of Charles’s II mistresses was a leading woman actress of the day, Nell Gwyn.
One example is the Country Wife by William Wycherley in 1675. You can see a summary here in the nearby video link. This play is still occasionally staged today. (In summary, a man pretends to be impotent, so women think he is safe. He isn’t)
Succession
Charles II is reputed to have had 12 children by various mistresses. However, he was unable to produce an heir with his wife Catherine. As a result, his Catholic brother, James, was the heir presumptive. Because of James’s religion, many opposed his status as heir. Passions were further inflamed by a false conspiracy to assassinate Charles, known as the ‘Popish Plot.’ An Anglican priest named Titus Oates created and spread the rumors. During the resulting hysteria, a number of Jesuit priests were executed and Parliament passed anti-Catholic legislation. The frenzy ebbed as investigations turned up no evidence in support of the plot. However, Parliament attempted to pass an exclusionary act, prohibiting James from becoming King. Charles II opposed these bills, dissolving Parliament several times to prevent passage.
Thus when Charles died in 1685, his brother James became King. James only lasted three years, as we’ll cover in a future post.
A Final Note - Camilla, Charles, and Diana are Related!
I won’t go into the details, because it’s too complicated to follow. But tracing the descendants of Charles II illegitimate children results in Camilla and Diana being something like 9th cousins once removed. Starting with the earlier King James I, father of Charles I, one can trace a path both to today’s King, and to Princess Diana. If you really want to understand it, here is a video, only 9 minutes long.
I guess you could say Camilla, Charles, and Diana had a big family feud!