Charles 2 of england biography definition

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  • Who succeeded charles ii
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    Charles II of England

    King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 to 1685

    Charles II

    Charles in Garter robes, c. 1660–1665

    Reign29 May 1660[a] –
    6 February 1685
    Coronation23 April 1661
    PredecessorCharles I
    SuccessorJames II & VII
    Reign30 January 1649 –
    3 September 1651[b]
    Coronation1 January 1651
    PredecessorCharles I
    SuccessorMilitary government
    Born29 May 1630
    (N.S.: 8 June 1630)
    St James's Palace, Westminster, England
    Died6 February 1685 (aged 54)
    (N.S.: 16 February 1685)
    Whitehall Palace, Westminster, England
    Burial14 February 1685

    Westminster Abbey, England

    Spouse
    Illegitimate children
    Detail
    • James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
    • Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth
    • Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth
    • Catherine FitzCharles
    • Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland
    • Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton
    • Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield
    • George FitzRoy

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      Charles II (1630 - 1685)

      Portrait of Charles II  ©Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose restoration to the throne in 1660 marked the end of republican rule in England.

      Charles was born on 29 May 1630, the eldest surviving son of Charles I. He was 12 when the Civil War began and two years later was appointed nominal commander-in-chief in western England. With the parliamentary victory he was forced into exile on the continent. He was in the Netherlands when, in 1649, he learnt of his father's execution.

      In 1650, Charles did a deal with the Scots and was proclaimed king. With a Scottish army he invaded England but was defeated by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. He again escaped into exile and it was not until 1660 that he was invited back to England to reclaim his throne. Although those who had signed Charles I's death warrant were punished, the new king pursued a policy of political tolerance and power-sharing. His desire for religious tol

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      He was certainly mercurial and brilliant, and quite possibly lustful and in the grip of dark and foreign powers. King Charles II was however, one of the nation’s most interesting and beguiling rulers.

      As a teen, his golden childhood was ripped away from him by the Civil War. Fight and flight marked these years with the execution of his beloved father shattering his world. His twenties were spent hopping around continental courts, begging favours and finances.

      A time to celebrate

      On his thirtieth birthday, he left all that behind and triumphantly returned to London as King. In the end, the national experiment with republicanism had collapsed and the dour days of Cromwell and the Commonwealth were swept away with festivities and mirth.

      Charles II was tall, handsome, sharp of mind, impeccably attired and charming. But he would need all his guile to manoeuvre and survive the tempestuous times in which he ruled.

      Charles II's coronation

      After the death of Oliver Cromwell, his s

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