26. Charles II

The Kings and Queens podcast

Charles II (1660-85) was described by Ronald Hutton as the playboy monarch, naughty but nice, the hero of all who prized urbanity, tolerance, good humour, and the pursuit of pleasure above more earnest, sober or material virtues. Yet, like his grandfather he struggled to pay for it. Though Restoration England brought a new respect and freedom to the monarchy, the country had survived 11 years without the crown. He would test the patience of the establishment when his lifestyle and his faith drew him to the webs of Catholic Europe.

Characters

Charles II – King of England, Scotland and Ireland
Catherine of Braganza – Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland
James, duke of York – younger brother of Charles II
Charles I – King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1625-49), father of Charles II
James I – King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1603-25), grandfather of Charles II
Henrietta Maria – Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland, mother of Charles II
Henrietta Anne – younger sister of Charles II, duchess of Orleans
Princess Mary – daughter of James, duke of York
William of Orange – prince of Orange, husband of Princess Mary

Oliver Cromwell – Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653-58)
Richard Cromwell - Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1658-59), son of Oliver Cromwell
Thomas Fairfax – Parliamentarian commander and general of the New Model Army
Prince Rupert of the Rhine – Royalist cavalry commander and colonial governor, cousin of Charles II
George Monck – prominent English soldier
John Lambert – Parliamentarian general
Henry Ireton – Parliamentary general
John Bradshaw - President of the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
Colonel Thomas Blood – Anglo-Irish officer
Titus Oates – English Priest who fabricated the Popish plot
Israel Tonge – English divine who helped fabricate the Popish plot
Edmund Godfrey – English magistrate
Edward Hyde, 1st earl of Clarendon – Lord Chancellor

The CABAL - Lord Clifford, Earl of Arlington, Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley, Duke of Lauderdale
George Pendrell – Catholic royalist

Nell Gwynne - mistress of Charles II
Barbara Villiers – mistress of Charles II

William Harvey – physician and tutor of Charles II
Christopher Wren – architect responsible for rebuilding 52 London churches
Isaac Newton – mathematician and physicist
Robert Boyle – philosopher, chemist, and physicist
Edmund Halley – astronomer, geophysicist, and mathematician

Louis XIV – King of France, cousin of Charles II

Samuel Pepys – Diarist and President of the Royal society
John Evelyn – diarist and writer
Gilbert Burnet – contemporary historian and philosopher

Figures from the past
Henry V – King of England (1413-22)
Richard III – King of England (1483-85)
Edward, The Black Prince – son of Edward III and heir to the English throne

Elizabeth II – Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms (1952-present)

CREDITS

Henry Purcell – The Old Bachelor

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