King Charles II from the House of Stuart was born 29 May 1630 in St. James Palace in Westminster, Middlesex, England to King Charles I & Princess Henrietta Maria Debourbon who was the sister of Louis XIII of France, who was his godfather.
He was my 10th Great-grandfather on my maternal side, through my Haynes line.
Charles as an infant in 1630, painting attributed to Justus van Egmont
St. James Palace the North Front painted by Charles Wild 1819
The palace was built by the order of King Henry VII in the 1530's on the site of an isolated leper hospital dedicated to Saint James the Less.
Coronation portrait: Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661.
Charles in exile, painted by Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1653
Portrait by John Riley, c. 1683–1684
We have a pretty, witty king,
Whose word no man relies on,
He never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one
Papers of Thomas Hearne (17 November 1706) quoted in Doble 1885, p. 308.
Portrait by John Michael Wright, c. 1660–1665
Charles had an extraordinary life, he went through several wars and an exile a great plague and fire and had so many women no one could keep count.
Some of them were as follows and the children he fathered:
He was only married to Catherine, they married 20 May 1662 in Almondbury, Yorkshire, England, They had no children together, she had four pregnancies that ended in miscarriages and stillbirths, in 1662, February 1666, May 1668, and June 1669.
By Lucy Walter (c. 1630 – 1658):
 |
| Lucy Walter (1630–1658), as a Shepherdess painted by Peter Lely. Source:artuk.org |
James Crofts, later Scott (1649–1685), created Duke of Monmouth (1663) in England and Duke of Buccleuch (1663) in Scotland. Monmouth was born nine months after Walter and Charles II first met, and was acknowledged as his son by Charles II, but James II suggested that he was the son of another of her lovers, Colonel Robert Sidney, rather than Charles. Lucy Walter had a daughter, Mary Crofts, born after James in 1651, but Charles II was not the father, since he and Walter parted in September 1649.
By Elizabeth Killigrew (1622–1680), daughter of Sir Robert Killigrew, married Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon, in 1660:
Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria FitzRoy (1650–1684), married firstly James Howard and secondly William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth
By Catherine Pegge:
Charles Fitz Charles (1657–1680), known as "Don Carlo", created Earl of Plymouth (1675)
Catherine Fitz Charles (born 1658; she either died young or became a nun at Dunkirk)
By Barbara Villiers (1641–1709), wife of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, and created Duchess of Cleveland in her own right:
 |
| Portrait by Sir Peter Lely (c. 1666) |
Lady Anne Palmer (Fitzroy) (1661–1722), married Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex. She may have been the daughter of Roger Palmer, but Charles accepted her.
Charles Fitzroy (1662–1730), created Duke of Southampton (1675), became 2nd Duke of Cleveland (1709)
Henry Fitzroy (1663–1690), created Earl of Euston (1672), Duke of Grafton (1675)
Charlotte Fitzroy (1664–1717), married Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
George Fitzroy (1665–1716), created Earl of Northumberland (1674), Duke of Northumberland (1678)
(Barbara (Benedicta) Fitzroy (1672–1737) – She was probably the child of John Churchill, later Duke of Marlborough, who was another of Cleveland's many lovers, and was never acknowledged by Charles as his own daughter.
By Nell Gwyn (1650–1687):
 |
| Portrait of Nell Gwyn (1650-1687), mistress of Charles II of England "In this portrait Nell is holding a six-petalled flower which has been identified as jasmine. As a flower painter, Verelst would have been familiar with jasmine’s structure and its traditional inclusion in portraits to signify the amiable nature of a sitter. Jasmine is well-known for its intoxicating scent, and this combined with its almost translucent petals and fragility, allows Verelst to play with the senses of sight, smell and touch, recognised devices characteristic of seventeenth-century Dutch painting." |
Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726), created Duke of St Albans (1684)
James, Lord Beauclerk (1671–1680)
By Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille (1649–1734), created Duchess of Portsmouth in her own right (1673):
 |
| Portrait of Louise de Keroual, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649-1734), mistress of Charles II of England |
Charles Lennox (1672–1723), created Duke of Richmond (1675) in England and Duke of Lennox (1675) in Scotland.
By Mary 'Moll' Davis, courtesan and actress of repute:
Lady Mary Tudor (1673–1726), married Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater; after Edward's death, she married Henry Graham (of Levens), and upon his death she married James Rooke.
Other probable mistresses include:
Christabella Wyndham
Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin Winifred Wells – one of Queen Catherine's Maids of Honor
Jane Roberts – the daughter of a clergyman
Mrs Knight – a famous singer
Elizabeth, Countess of Falmouth – the widow of Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Countess of Kildare.
Letters claiming that Marguerite or Margaret de Carteret bore Charles a son named James de la Cloche in 1646 are dismissed by historians as forgeries.
King Charles II suffered a sudden apoplectic fit (stroke) on the morning of 2 February 1685, and died four days later at the Palace of Whitehall, at 11:45 am, at age 54. The suddenness of his death held some suspicion of possible poisoning in the mind of many, including the royal doctors.
On his death bed he asked his brother James to look after his mistresses: "Be well to Portsmouth, and let no poor Nelly starve."
He told his courtiers "I am sorry, gentlemen, for being such a time a-dying."
He expressed his regret about the way he treated his wife Catherine.
He was buried at Westminster Abbey the 14th of February and was succeeded by his brother James II and IV.
His nick name was "Old Rowley" after a stallion racehorse of his. His subjects hated that they had to pay taxes that were spent on his many mistresses and their children, many of whom received dukedoms or earldoms.
The present Dukes of Buccleuch, Richmond, Grafton and St Albans descend from Charles in unbroken male line. Charles II is an ancestor of both King Charles III's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales,[g] and his second wife, Queen Camilla. Charles and Diana's son, William, Prince of Wales, is likely to be the first British monarch descended from Charles II.
[g] Diana was descended from two of Charles II's illegitimate sons: the Dukes of Grafton and Richmond.
How exciting to have royalty in your bloodline, I love genealogy, it's such a fun adventure.
I found this YouTube video of King Charles History, hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave me a comment.
Sources: Ancestry.com, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica.
Comments
Post a Comment