He even became a Catholic in order to help end a war with the Dutch. He hoped that Great Britain would allow religious freedom. This gave Charles II a lot of free time, which he spent at the races and having many extra marital affairs. Charles II’s RuleĬharles II allowed Parliament to have much more power but he still retained the power to disband Parliament. Charles II would also have many offspring, although not as many as Old Rowley. He owned a successful thoroughbred stallion named Old Rowley who sired many offspring. When he lifted the ban on horse racing, Newmarket Racecourse started to be called “Old Rowley” which was Charles II’s nickname. He required his entire court to attend the Newmarket races. He helped develop two small spaniel breeds today called the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the lesser-known English toy spaniel, which used to be called the King Charles Spaniel or “Charlies.” Many paintings of King Charles II and his family members include spaniels.Ĭharles II was completely unlike Oliver Cromwell when it came to horse racing. He often held court while playing with his dogs. With his victory, he became ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland.Ĭharles II loved dogs, particularly small friendly spaniels. Charles II finally came home and smashed Robert Cromwell’s army in 1660. Charles II fled England and waited for another good time to return. Cromwell beat Charles II’s forces in 1651. Charles II returned in 1650 with the strong support of Scotland, long before Oliver Cromwell died. Charles II realized that if he returned to England, he would have many supporters who wanted a Monarchy back instead of a future consisting of Lord Protectors. When Did Charles II Rule?Īfter Cromwell’s death, his oldest son Robert became Lord Protectorate. Cromwell’s reign is called the Protectorate, since Cromwell gave himself the title Lord Protector. He banned horse racing and the theatre because he felt they were sinful. He had anyone who was not a Protestant or a Jew put to death. The Return of Charles IIĬromwell managed to be an even worse ruler than King Charles I. With Charles I dead and Charles II in exile, Cromwell became supreme commander of England until he died in 1658. He was executed on Januby having his head chopped off with a large ax. The King was charged with treason because he started a civil war where so many died and many more suffered. His father was not so lucky.Ĭharles I was captured by Cromwell’s army and put on trial. When Charles II turned 14, he was given command of the Royalist army in West England. His mother was in the Netherlands at the time trying to get money to pay for the Royalist army. The first civil war began when Charles II was 12 years old. The official end of the war was when Charles II was crowned King. All of the wars finally ended in 1660, with over 200,000 dead from either battle or the starvation and sickness brought on by the wars. Great Britain went through three civil wars in about 20 years. There was a brief peace until yet another civil war broke out. Cromwell won the first Civil War in 1646, but another soon broke out. Parliament claimed that it was the rightful commander of the army, not the King. The Parliamentary army was led by future Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658.) When Irish people rebelled, Charles I wanted to command the army to punish the Irish. The first Civil War (1642 – 1646) was fought between people loyal to the Monarchy, called Royalists and people loyal to Parliament, called Parliamentarians. The King lived a lavish lifestyle while many people in Great Britain starved. He married a Catholic French princess when most of England was Protestant. He raised taxes whenever he felt like it, even when Parliament pleaded for him not to. He did such a bad job that civil war broke out.Ĭharles I did many things to upset Parliament. Charles was called “Tyrant” because he disbanded Parliament and ruled England, Ireland and Scotland single-handedly for eleven years. It is because of Charles I’s misuse of that power that made Parliament demand that Kings and Queens have very little actual power to make laws. The Rule of King Charles IĬharles I had a lot more power than British Kings and Queens have today. She never had an official coronation or crowning ceremony so she is officially called a Queen Consort instead of Queen. His mother was Queen Consort Henrietta Maria (1609 – 1669), a princess of France. He was the first son born to the current king, Charles I (1600 – 1649). King Charles II was born on May 29, 1630. The king refused, saying, “I was not the one who started the fire.” This shows what kind of man and ruler he was. When the Monument to the victims of the Great Fire of London was being made, architect Sir Christopher Wren wanted to place a statue of King Charles II at the top.
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