Royal Charles: Charles II and the Restoration Read online

  King Charles II

  ANTONIA FRASER

  Contents

  Cover

  Title

  Dedication

  About the Author

  By Antonia Fraser

  List of Illustrations

  Author’s Note

  PART ONE: The Hopeful Prince

  1 Heaven Was Liberal

  2 ‘I Fear Them Not!’

  3 Present Miseries

  4 Dependence

  5 The King’s Son

  PART TWO: Nothing but the Name

  6 A Candle to the Devil

  7 Ravished at Worcester

  8 Heroical Figure

  9 A Difficult Game

  10 The Courtesies and the Injuries

  11 At the Waterside

  PART THREE: This Golden Age

  12 Noah’s Dove

  13 The Best of Queens

  14 The Dutch Business

  15 Black Day

  16 This Revolution

  17 A Very Near Alliance

  18 Virtues and Imperfections

  PART IV: The Monarchy in Danger

  19 Subsisting Together?

  20 The Knot in the Comb

  21 Peace For His Own Time

  22 Against Exclusion

  23 A King at Chess

  PART FIVE: His Autumnal Fortune

  24 Bolder and Older

  25 Another Way of Ruling

  26 The Dregs of Life

  27 His Royal Ashes

  References

  Reference Books

  Picture Section

  Index

  Copyright

  For my mother and Harold

  the first readers

  with love

  Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works including the biographies King Charles II, the recently republished Mary Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette: The Journey which won the Franco-British Literary Prize in 2001 and was made into a film by Sofia Coppola in 2006. Most recently she has published Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King.

  Antonia Fraser won a Wolfson History Prize in 1984, was made CBE in 1999, and was awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. She lives in London and has six children and eighteen grandchildren.

  By Antonia Fraser

  Mary Queen of Scots

  Cromwell: Our Chief of Men

  King James VI of Scotland, I of England

  (Kings and Queens series)

  King Charles II

  The Weaker Vessel: Woman’s Lot

  in Seventeenth-Century England

  The Warrior Queens: Boadicea’s Chariot

  The Six Wives of Henry VIII

  The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605

  Marie Antoinette: The Journey

  Illustrations

  Letter from Charles, Prince of Wales (British Library)

  Queen Henrietta Maria, King Charles I and Charles, Prince of Wales (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  The five children of Charles I (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  The Prince of Wales aged thirteen (the author; photo Angelo Hornak)

  Queen Henrietta Maria (National Portrait Gallery)

  Charles, Prince of Wales, in armour (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Charles I and the Prince of Wales (British Museum; photo John Freeman)

  Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon (Courtauld Institute)

  Seal of Charles II in 1650 (Société Jersiaise)

  Mary, Princess of Orange (National Gallery of Scotland)

  La Grande Mademoiselle (British Museum; photo John Freeman)

  Whiteladies and Boscobel House (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Modern Worcester (photo by the author)

  The Royal Oak today (Department of the Environment, Crown copyright)

  Charles II in the Boscobel oak (Christie’s; photo A. C. Cooper)

  Charles II and Jane Lane (Christie’s; photo A. C. Cooper)

  Charles II in exile (Sir Arthur Bryant)

  Lucy Walter (Mansell Collection)

  James, Duke of Monmouth, as a boy (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Charles II dancing with Princess Mary (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen; photo A.C. Cooper)

  Charles II being welcomed at Delft in 1660

  Charles II in a Plea Roll initial (Public Record Office)

  Coronation of Charles II (British Museum; photo John Freeman)

  Catharine of Braganza (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Medallion celebrating Charles II’s marriage (Cyril Humphris)

  King Charles and Queen Catharine arriving at Hampton Court (British Museum; photo John Freeman)

  The marriage certificate (by courtesy of the Dean and Chapter of Portsmouth)

  Charles II at Dorney Court (collection of the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley; photo courtesy of Agnew’s)

  The Royal Escape (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Henriette-Anne, Duchesse d’Orléans (Victoria & Albert Museum)

  William III of Orange (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  James, Duke of York (Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

  Anne Hyde, Duchess of York (Scottish National Portrait Gallery; photo Colin Scott)

  Charles II at Windsor races (Robert Harding Associates; photo John Freeman)

  A game of real tennis (Mansell Collection)

  Playing pall-mall (Museum of London)

  Charles II in 1665 (Mauritshuis, The Hague)

  Medallion commemorating the foundation of a Mathematical and Nautical School (Cyril Humphris)

  Frances Stewart (by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen)

  Nell Gwynn (British Museum)

  Hortense Mancini (Trustees of the Earl of Sandwich’s 1943 Settlement)

  Barbara Villiers (Earl Spencer)

  Louise de Kéroüalle (private collection; Courtauld Institute)

  Charles, Earl of Plymouth

  Charles, Duke of Richmond and Lennox (Christie’s; photo A. C. Cooper)

  Charlotte, Countess of Lichfield (York City Art Gallery)

  St Paul’s Cathedral (National Monuments Record, Crown copyright)

  Henry Purcell (National Portrait Gallery)

  John Wilmot (National Portrait Gallery)

  Dorset Garden Theatre (Victoria & Albert Museum)

  John Evelyn (National Portrait Gallery)

  John Dryden (National Portrait Gallery)

  Charles II in 1684 (by courtesy of the Governors of Christ’s Hospital)

  Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby (National Portrait Gallery)

  Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington (National Portrait Gallery)

  George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (National Portrait Gallery)

  Thomas, Lord Clifford of Chudleigh (National Portrait Gallery)

  Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale (Victoria & Albert Museum)

  James Butler, Duke of Ormonde (National Portrait Gallery)

  Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury (National Portrait Gallery)

  Broadsheet concerning the Rye House Plot (Photomas Index; photo John Freeman)

  Medallion commemorating Shaftesbury’s acquittal (Cyril Humphris)

  James, Duke of Monmouth (National Portrait Gallery)

  Declaration concerning his marriage by Charles II (Pierpont Morgan Collection)

  Medal celebrating the marriage of William and Mary (Mansell Collection)

  Mary of Modena (National Portrait Gallery)

  Louis XIV (Bri
tish Museum)

  Effigy of Charles II (by courtesy of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

  The House of Stuart and the House of Bourbon

  The Netherlands in the seventeenth century

  The British Isles in the age of Charles II

  Author’s Note

  First and foremost this book has been a labour of love. I have always been fascinated by the character of King Charles II, sharing the view of Queen Victoria, who told Dean Stanley that, for all his moral failings, she regarded Charles II as one of the most attractive of her predecessors. I wanted to discover for myself whether he merited this long-held sympathy.

  Romantic curiosity was the start. Curiosity of a different sort spurred me on when I was working on the life of Oliver Cromwell. What happened next to the ‘young gentleman’, as Cromwell himself sometimes described the exiled Charles II? The Restoration of 1660 is such a convenient starting-point for historical studies: it is sometimes forgotten that Charles II was already thirty at the time of his return, with one whole dramatic existence behind him. I have hoped in my biography to span both periods of his life before and after 1660 and show their relation to each other.

  Thirdly, as a historical work, this biography is in the nature of a re-assessment, based on the workings of many scholars in the field. There are surprisingly few biographies of any note of Charles II compared to some popular figures; paradoxically, we have been extremely fortunate in our historians of the period. Osmund Airy’s life (1901) should still be mentioned and Sir Arthur Bryant’s biography, concentrating on the reign itself (1931, revised 1955), is enduringly splendid. The most recent life, by Maurice Ashley (1972), is especially strong on the tortuous diplomacy of the period. Since that date there has been still more research made public – and such valuable additions to our knowledge will undoubtedly continue to flow forth. In making my reassessment I gratefully acknowledge my debt to all scholars of the period, past and present. Finality is impossible – fortunately, in my opinion, for who would wish the last word on King Charles II to have been spoken?

  I have taken the usual liberties in correcting spelling and punctuation where it seemed necessary to make sense to the general reader today. For the same reason I have ignored the fact that the calendar year was held to start on 25 March during this period and have used the modern style of dates starting on 1 January throughout. There was a ten-day difference in dating between England and the Continent during this period – England used Old Style (O.S.) and the Continent New Style (N.S.); once again, to avoid confusion, I have dated letters according to their source, occasionally giving both dates where necessary. Charles II was, of course, King of Great Britain, as we should term it today, but I have often used the term England to denote this area, as people did at the time.

  I wish to thank Her Majesty the Queen for gracious permission to work in the Royal Archives at Windsor, Sir Robert Mack-worth-Young, the Royal Librarian, and Miss Langton of the Royal Library. I also wish to thank Dr Stephen R. Parks, Curator of the Osborn Collection, Yale University; the Director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Mr Richard W. Couper, President and Chief Executive, and Mr James W. Henderson, Director of Research Libraries, of the New York Public Library; Mr T. I. Rae, Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts, National Library of Scotland; and Dr A. L. Murray, Assistant Keeper of the Scottish Record Office, for allowing me to see the various manuscripts in their care.

  I am most grateful to the following for assistance in different ways, representing the extraordinary variety displayed in the life of King Charles II: Lord Aberdare; Mr Howard Adams; Lt-Col. David Ascoli; Mr E. K. Barnard of the Cathedral Office, Portsmouth; Mr Neal Beck, Secretary of the King Charles Spaniel Club; Lord Clifford of Chudleigh; Lt-Col. A. Colin Cole, Garter King of Arms; Mr C. R. H. Cooper, Keeper of Manuscripts, and Mr M. V. Roberts of Enquiry Services, Guildhall Library; Mr Timothy Crist; Dr Chalmers Davidson; Mr Barry Denton of Northampton; Sir John Dewhurst, former President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; Mr J. F. Downes of Hook Norton; Mr Peter Foster, Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey; Mr Eric J. Freeman, Librarian of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine; Mr. J. R. Goulsbra, Secretary of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea; Mr John Gross; Mr Nigel Hamilton; Mr J. W. Hele, High Master of St Paul’s School; Dr Albert E. J. Hollaender; Squadron-Leader L. R. Horrox; Mr Cyril Humphris; Mr Jonathan Israel; Mr Simon Jenkins; Mr R. C. Latham; Mr Raphael Loewe for translating the Sasportas letter; Mrs D. Maclaine, Secretary of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club; Mr N. H. MacMichael, Keeper of the Muniments, Westminster Abbey; Mrs W. E. Macready, Honorary Secretary, Société Jersiaise; Sir Iain Moncrieffe of that Ilk; Dr G. C. R. Morris; Mr Ferdinand Mount; Mrs P. M. O’Connor, Honorary Secretary, Marlipins Museum, Shoreham; Miss Jane O’Hara-May; Mr Richard Ollard; Mrs Julia Parker for her horoscope of King Charles II; Mr George Pinker; Mr Anthony Powell; Lady Violet Powell; Mr John Sales, Curator of the Bridport Museum; Mr Edgar Samuel; Mr A. Schishca; Mr Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr; Dr Jan Den Tex; Miss Audrey Williamson; Professor I. Tishby of Jerusalem for permission to quote from the unpublished letter of Rabbi Jacob Sasportas; and Mr Steen Vedel for the unpublished diary of his ancestor Corfitz Braëm.

  Professor J. P. Kenyon read the manuscript at an early stage and made many helpful criticisms. Peter Earle and Gila Falkus also read the manuscript and made suggestions. Dr Maurice Ashley kindly read the proofs. I was delighted to get to know Sir Arthur Bryant through our shared interest in King Charles II, and to receive his encouragement. Anne Somerset gave me vital assistance in checking references and making good any omissions; my daughter, Flora Fraser, carried on the good work. Above all, Christopher Falkus of Weidenfeld’s was a tower of strength at every stage.

  Lastly I should like to thank my secretary Mrs Charmian Gibson, Mrs Patsy Parsons, and Mrs V. Williams and her staff for heroic typing.

  ANTONIA FRASER

  PART ONE

  The Hopeful Prince

  ‘A great and a hopeful Prince’

  CLARENDON

  CHAPTER ONE

  Heaven Was Liberal

  ‘This year Heaven was liberal to his Majesty in giving him a son to inherit his dominions.’

  Richard Perrinchief, The Royal Martyr

  When in the summer of 1630 a healthy son was born to the King and Queen of England, it seemed that their happiness was complete. Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles, the first Stuart monarch of that name, had presented him with an heir. King Charles was twenty-nine years old, his French wife twenty. He loved her passionately.

  It had not always been so: at the time of their marriage five years earlier the young King had preferred the companionship of his father’s favourite, the dazzling Duke of Buckingham. The death of Buckingham had brought the little Queen into her husband’s confidence and favour, never to leave it. Their married love was now total. Only a family – an heir – was needed, and the last traditional ambition of a royal couple would be fulfilled. Unfortunately their first child, Charles James, was a weakling who was born and died in May 1629.

  Almost exactly a year later, on 29 May 1630, at noon with Venus the star of love and fortune shining high over the horizon, Henrietta Maria gave birth to a second son, also named Charles. Unlike his brother, this baby was enormous and healthy, and, even in that age of appalling infant mortality, clearly destined to survive. Verses on a contemporary engraving referred to the brothers as two sweet May-flowers, only one of which remained ‘in our garden, fresh to grow’. The child of 1629 was shown being borne away to celestial spheres.

  Of happy 1630 it was written in contrast, ‘This year Heaven was liberal to his Majesty in giving him a son to inherit his dominions.’1 And as the bells rang out, later giving way to bonfires in the summer night, the King proceeded immediately to St Paul’s for a service of thanksgiving. It was incidentally the patronal feast of St Augustine of Canterbury, he who had brought Christianity to the Angles: it must be said that the appearance of Venus would prove
the more relevant portent of the young Prince’s character.

  As the good news spread outwards across the King’s widespread dominions, so the spokesmen of his power rejoiced. In far-off Scotland, from which his Stuart father James had come, the King’s deputies lit fires; in Ireland too there was official rejoicing; across the water the Court of Louis XIII were content to hear that a daughter of Bourbon France had fulfilled the natural function of a Queen.

  The child thrived. At the time it seemed like the end of a fairy-tale.

  Only a few years later, it would become apparent that Charles had been born at the zenith of his unfortunate father’s short arc of happiness. Far from marking the end of a fairy-tale, the birth of the future Charles II marked the beginning of the most troubled period that man could remember in the history of the realm. By the time Charles was eight years old, war had broken out with his father’s northern kingdom; by the time he was twelve, the whole of England was plunged in civil war. A few years more and the young Prince himself was penniless and a fugitive.

  At the time poets were fascinated by the presiding presence of Venus at the Prince’s birth. One of the most graceful expressions of this preoccupation was given by Robert Herrick in his ‘Pastoral’ on the occasion, set by Nicholas Lanier for presentation to the King:

  And that his birth should be more singular,

  At noon of day, was seen a silver star,

  Bright as the wise men’s torch, which guided them

  To God’s sweet babe, where born at Bethlehem;…

  Later astrologers were morbidly obsessed by the significance of that delusive star in his chart.fn1 So paradoxically dreadful were the early fortunes of Charles Stuart the second, compared to the golden expectations at his birth, that they would ponder helplessly on the subject. If the heavens themselves had been misleading, was it a wonder that mere mortals had erred in predicting for him a destiny both splendid and serene?