© Richard Randall

Caribbean

Sundries

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Later years

Another political storm which faced Charles was that of succession to the Throne. The Parliament of 1679 was elected at a time when anti-Catholic sentiments prevailed across the Kingdom, and found itself vehemently opposed to the prospect of a Catholic monarch. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (previously Baron Ashley and a member of the Cabal, which had fallen apart in 1672) introduced the Exclusion Bill, which sought to exclude the Duke of York from the line of succession. Some even sought to devise the Crown to the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of Charles's illegitimate children. The "Abhorrers"—those who opposed the Exclusion Bill—would develop into the Tory Party, whilst the "Petitioners"—those who supported the Exclusion Bill—became the Whig Party.

Fearing that the Exclusion Bill would be passed, Charles dissolved Parliament in December 1679. Two further Parliaments were called in Charles' reign (one in 1680, the other in 1681), but both were dissolved because they sought to pass the Exclusion Bill. During the 1680s, however, popular support for the Exclusion Bill began to dissolve, and Charles experienced a nationwide surge of loyalty, for many of his subjects felt that Parliament had been too assertive and obnoxious. For the remainder of his reign, Charles ruled as an absolute monarch, without a Parliament.

Charles' opposition to the Exclusion Bill angered some Protestants. Protestant conspirators formulated the Rye House Plot, a plan to murder the King and the Duke of York as they returned to London after horse races in Newmarket. A great fire, however, destroyed much of Newmarket and caused the cancellation of the races; thus, the planned attack could not take place. Before news of the plot leaked, the chief conspirators fled. Protestant politicians such as Algernon Sydney and the Lord William Russell were implicated in the plot and executed for high treason, albeit on very flimsy evidence.

Charles died suddenly of uremia, a clinical syndrome due to kidney dysfunction. It results in a biochemicial disturbance in the body including retention of urea. Urea is a waste product of protein metabolism and is normally excreted in the urine. The syndrome is characterized by nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, dimness of vision, convulsions and coma.

When he knew he was dying and in great secrecy, a priest, Father John Huddleston, was summoned to his bedside. Charles was admitted into the Catholic Church and received the last rites. He died on Wednesday, 6 February 1685. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded by the Duke of York, who became James II in England and Ireland, and James VII in Scotland.

Legacy

Charles II left no legitimate issue. He did, however, have several children by a number of mistresses (many of whom were wives of noblemen); many of his mistresses and illegitimate children received dukedoms or earldoms. He publicly acknowledged fourteen children by seven mistresses; six of those children were borne by a single woman, the notorious Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, whom Charles granted the Dukedom of Cleveland. His other favourite mistresses were Nell Gwynne and Louise RenÈe de PenancoÎt de KÈrouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. Charles also acknowledged children by Lucy Walter, Elizabeth Killigrew, Viscountess Shannon and Catherine Pegge, Lady Greene. The present Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Duke of Richmond and Gordon, Duke of Grafton and Duke of St Albans all descend from Charles in direct male line. Charles' relationships, as well as the politics of his time, are depicted in the historical drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion (produced in 2003 by the British Broadcasting Corporation).

It is worth noting that Diana, Princess of Wales was descended from two of Charles' illegitimate sons, the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of Richmond (who is also a direct ancestor of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Rothesay, the former Camilla Parker Bowles, second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales). Thus her son HRH Prince William of Wales, currently second in line to the British Throne, will very likely be the first descended from Charles I since the death of Queen Anne in 1714.

Charles II's eldest son, the Duke of Monmouth, led a rebellion against James II, but was defeated at the battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685, captured, and executed. James II, however, was eventually dethroned in 1688 in the course of the Glorious Revolution. James was the last Catholic monarch to rule England.

Charles, a patron of the arts and sciences, helped found the Royal Society, a scientific group whose early members included Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton. Charles was the personal patron of Sir Christopher Wren, the architect who helped rebuild London after the Great Fire in 1666. Wren also constructed the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which Charles founded as a home for retired soldiers in 1681. Since 1692, a statue of Charles II in ancient Roman dress (created by Grinling Gibbons in 1676) has stood in the Figure Court of the Royal Hospital.

The anniversary of Charles' Restoration (which is also his birthday) — 29 May — is celebrated in the United Kingdom as "Oak Apple Day", after the Royal Oak in which Charles is said to have hid to escape from the forces of Oliver Cromwell. Traditional celebrations involve the wearing of oak leaves, but have now, for the most part, died out. The anniversary of the Restoration is also an official Collar Day.

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