TIME TRAVELLERS
King Charles II
King Charles was born in St. James Palace on 29 th May 1630 . The eldest surviving child of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. He had a sister he utterly adored for all his life – Marie – whom he described as Minnette. He was 12 when civil war broke out and found himself having to fight furiously alongside his father. Charles became skilled in the arts of war and leadership. He became commander of his own troops in the west country in 1645 at only 14 years of age. He fled into exile in 1646 setting foot in France and then in Holland to be with his sister who had married Prince William of Orange . On 30 th January 1649 , King Charles 1 was executed. Charles II was proclaimed King in Jersey on 16 th February. Charles led a hopeful army into England in 1651 but was defeated, hid in an oak tree and escaped dressed as a servant to France . After the death of Cromwell and the failure of Richard Cromwell to fully control the situation in England , Charles was restored on 29 th May 1660 and crowned in Westminster Abbey on 23 rd April 1661 . He had been previously crowned in Scone Abbey on 1 st January 1651 . Charles had known poverty at times in exile and rejection. As King he now intended to live life to the full. Exceptionally tall at 6ft. with great dark eyes and dark skin he was a striking and attractive man. He married Katherine of Braganza in Portsmouth in 1662 who sadly produced only three stillborn children. However, his eight official mistresses produced at least 16 children between them. There are thought to be many more mistresses and children dotted in this country and abroad. Learning from his father’s mistake, Charles II kept close to the people. He was much loved and described as “The Merrie Monarch”. A great supporter of the early scientists and all the arts he did much to encourage learning and brought England ’s glory on wonderfully well. He continued to irritate many however for self-indulgence and spending too much time and money on his mistresses. On 6 th February 1685 he died at Whitehall Palace aged 54 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. You will see King Charles II come to life today as he appears in a fantastic costume taken from designs of the time. The costume is insured for £8,000. Tall, dark and handsome you will be told of the life of Charles by Dr. Gareth Williams , Curator of the British Museum.
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