King Who Came to Throne Again After the Interregnum
Charles II and his court
Charles II, by John Michael Wright, c.1671-76
© Royal Collection Trust
Charles Two is one of the most enigmatic and colourful monarchs in British History. Forget the Tudors, the Stuarts are where it'due south at for scandal, betrayal, and power trips… non to mention a healthy dose of sex, adultery and illegitimate children!
The Restoration
The Restoration, a term used to marking the re-establishment of the monarchy in 1660 subsequently the Interregnum and parliamentary dominion, often includes the entirety of Charles Two'due south reign, which ran from 1660 – 1685.
The country had been shaken by the English language Ceremonious Wars, the execution of Charles I, and the puritan Interregnum and armed services rule of Oliver Cromwell. But now, their prince had returned, and Charles II ascended to his throne on the wave of support for the monarchy that had been abolished but 11 years before. In 1660, to the fanfare of public joy and excitement, Charles II returned from his long stay in exile to be crowned king. His return to England was celebrated with street parties, bonfires, ceremonies and parade, and the royal procession through the streets of London and his coronation day were so successful that they were reported to have taken place without one drop of claret being spilled.
For many people the return of Charles represented a shift in the cultural and social mural of England; i that moved away from the old regimes, and towards a new way of modernity and prosperity. But for others some of the changes proved a little too farthermost.
"the King and Court were never in the globe and so bad as they are at present for gaming, swearing, whoring, and drinking, and the virtually abominable vices that ever were in the world; and so that all must come up to nought."
The Merry Monarch
Charles Two was nicknamed the 'Merry Monarch' for proficient reason; indulgence, exuberance and pleasure became the new aspirations of the upper classes. The arrival of the king saw London go the new stylish, social hub of the country and the playground of the nobility. Theatres were re-opened with women on the stage for the first time, public taverns were cartoon in men and women from across society, the king and his courtiers brushed shoulders with the common folk in the metropolis parks, and the court peculiarly was host to raucous parties and illicit encounters.
While in exile, Charles had spent considerable time at the French court, which was notorious across Europe for its decadence and sexually active courtiers and ladies. On his return to England, he brought many of the French trends with him, and turned the previously dry and plain English language court into a hedonistic palace of pleasure.
The result of all this was that at Whitehall, pleasance, entertainment and free honey reigned supreme. Charles surrounded himself with young, bawdy courtiers - rakes and libertines, every bit they were known - who were concerned more with having fun through gambling, drinking, womanising and partying than anything else like work or family unit. The ladies of the court were having a bang-up time too – they were encouraged to be witty, intelligent, brazen, and sexually liberated rather than following the outdated ideals of women who were passive, obedient, and virtuous. The palaces were a merry-go-round of adultery, with women playing an every bit agile office as men.
A diary entry from the courtier John Evelyn, a supporter of the monarchy and Charles II, just a fierce critic to his court, summed up palace life well:
King Charles Two dancing at a ball at court, past Hieronymus Janssens c.1660.
© Royal Drove Trust
"I am never to forget the unexpressable luxury, and prophanesse, gaming, and all dissolution, and every bit it were full forgetfullnesse of God (it being Sunday Evening) which this day sennight, I was witnesse of; the King, sitting and toying with his Concubines Portsmouth, Cleaveland, and Mazarine: etc: A French boy singing honey songs, in that glorious Gallery, whilst about xx of the greate Courtiers and other dissolute persons were at Basset round a large table, a bank of at to the lowest degree 2000 in Gold earlier them… it beingness a sceane of uttmost vanity."
The public nature of Charles' adultery was a whole new issue for many to contend with. Until now, most English monarchs, though they had private mistresses, were much more subtle well-nigh their diplomacy. Only Charles, truthful to his nature, was excessively open near his many illicit diplomacy.
Mistresses and Illegitimate children
Another mutual practice in French republic that Charles quickly adopted dorsum at home was the tradition for the monarch to have a maîtresse-en-titre, a woman who held the official position of the Male monarch's chief mistress. These women were publicly acknowledged, given apartments at the palace, showered with wealth, and had political influence with the Male monarch and court.
Here, Barbara Palmer, Charles' prominent mistress throughout the 1660'due south, and her illegitimate son, Charles FitzRoy, are ostentatiously painted equally the Virgin and Child.
by Sir Peter Lely c. 1664
© National Portrait Gallery
Charles was no stranger to mistresses; he had already bedded several beauties over on the continent and fathered 4 illegitimate children earlier he had fifty-fifty been declared king and sailed back to England. Merely now he wanted to introduce a new dynamic to his court dorsum abode, and he had a conquest on the horizon: Barbara Palmer, the outstandingly beautiful and married noblewoman who had been role of the entourage that accompanied him back from the continent for his coronation. Charles began his reign as he would continue to exercise for the residue of his life: with a recognised mistress at his side.
Information technology is difficult to put verbal figures on how many women were considered Charles' best-selling mistresses, but in that location were certainly at least fourteen women who are considered so, because they were either with him in a long-term capacity, or had children with him, or both. On top of that, he had countless flings with other women, and also used the services of prostitutes. It could be argued that he had some kind of sexual activity addiction – though they wouldn't accept called it that at the fourth dimension!
Meanwhile the queen, the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, was left isolated, unhappy and side-lined by the "Windsor beauties". It was common knowledge that the male monarch enjoyed the company of his mistresses above anyone else.
Questionable morality wasn't the only concern that people had about Charles' relationships, because with the mistresses came thirteen illegitimate, but officially recognised, children. They would need to exist provided for, and the e'er-generous Charles ensured that they were well looked after. They had the all-time education, were raised to the highest ranks of the nobility, had apartments at the palace and estates in the countryside, received the most prestigious offices available, and were granted pensions and annuities from the crown, not to mention the gambling debts that had to exist paid off. With a few exceptions, nearly of the illegitimate offspring grew up to be merely like their parents: frivolous, entitled, and greedy.
The issue was only fabricated worse past the fact that Queen Catherine was unable to have children. And, in the absenteeism of whatever legitimate heirs to the throne, the expenditure and efforts spent on his illegitimate children, who could never ascend to the throne, were deemed as excessive and lamented by many.
"Poor Prince! thy prick, like thy buffoons at Court,
Will govern thee because it makes thee sport.
'Tis certain the sauciest prick that e'er did swive,
The proudest, peremptoriest prick alive.
Though safe, police force, religion, life lay on 't,
'Twould break through all to make its way to cunt.
Restless he rolls about from whore to whore,
A merry monarch, scandalous and poor."
Cuckolds all a row
At courtroom, and on the streets of London and beyond, the pre-occupation with sex at the palace became a hot topic for satirists, poets and playwrights. At the center of the concern almost this sexy new court life were Charles' mistresses. No longer but objects for the men at courtroom to savor, these women were able to enjoy the sexual liberation of the courtroom, while exploiting it to their own advantage by gaining wealth, prestige, and influence.
Some people liked them – it fabricated the king seem more homo, especially when he took on his common mistresses similar Moll Davis and Nell Gwyn, and for those who themselves wanted to experience a more than free and exciting love life, the beautiful mistresses and the decadent court lifestyle were alluring. But many more people thought that these nobles represented everything that was wrong at court: immorality, corruption, and immoderacy.
Virtually of the poems, ballads and other satirical works came from outside critics similar religious groups or anti-monarchists. Simply some of the satire came from within the walls of the palace and Charles' closest friends.
The most famous was James Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, a young rake who was part of the circle of Charles' favourite courtiers. His 1673 poem, "A Satyr on Charles Ii", was a rough and no-holds barred stab at Charles' sexual exploits and mistresses at the expense of the kingdom. Rochester, who was himself a man of excessive pleasure and passions (he died aged 33 from various crabs diseases and alcoholism), was banished from court for several months for this critique, though Charles, who simply couldn't resist the visitor of his libertine friend, presently let him return to court.
While Charles was less slap-up to accept criticism, he was happy to laugh at everyone else's expense. He found all the sexual exploits of his court to exist about amusing and enjoyed the scandalous gossip as much equally anyone else. One of his favourite court dances was the aptly named "Cuckolds all a row" which he chosen for as the opening country song at the new year's day'southward eve ball in 1662.
Male monarch Charles Ii past John Michael Wright c. 1660-1665.
© National Portrait Gallery
A polarising character
For some, Charles was a thoroughly modernistic monarch, a human of culture and splendour, and a king who brought life back into a ho-hum and austere country. He re-opened all the theatres and allowed women to act on stage for the first time always, reinstated public holidays and feasts that had been banned under the Protectorate, and tried to practise religious tolerance and attempted to appease all groups in question. Charles was likewise an incredibly accessible man, who strolled in St James' Park, attended the playhouses, and frequented the taverns of London. He had a wide variety of interests such as philosophy, science and experiments which led to the founding of The Royal Society and the Imperial Observatory. And, in many means, his fashion of rule laid the foundations of what we now recognise every bit the modern monarchical system.
Merely, to others he was an embarrassment to the kingdom and to the institution of the monarchy. He despised paperwork and whenever possible he palmed off official assistants to his more willing ministers, preferring instead to enjoy the pleasure of his courtroom. He spent excessive amounts of coin on his mistresses and illegitimate children, usually drawing funds from the privy handbag and the exchequer, at the expense of the country. People believed that when information technology came to state matters, his mistresses either influenced his determination making, or distracted him from it altogether. To critics he gambled with the state'south finances, safety, and alliances, and showed little competence while doing information technology.
Then, as now, the effigy of Male monarch Charles II divided stance.
The legacy of Charles II
However Charles is perceived every bit a man and a king i thing is certain: he has endeared himself to the public imagination in a way that no other king, bar Henry Viii, has done.
Not merely that, but he has altered the brand-upwards of the elite and the royal family. If he had sired legitimate heirs to the throne, he may accept spent more time with Catherine, and less time proving his fertility and manhood with other women. Only several of his descendants, products of illicit diplomacy and children built-in out of union, are prominent members of the British royal family even today.
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Source: https://www.wrongsideoftheblanket.com/charles-ii-and-his-court
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