Part 1: 1660-1688 (Kings Charles II and James II)
Before Elizabeth I. died without leaving a heir (she wasn´t called "The Virgin Queen" without a reason!), she decided and agreed that James I. (1566-1625) was to follow her (who was already James VI. of Scotland and Mary Stuart´s son, who in turn was beheaded by order of her cousin Elizabeth in 1587).
The second Stuart on the English throne was his son Charles I. (1600-49).
He
saw himself
confronted with a government (under Oliver Cromwell), which became stronger
and more self-confident, the more Charles tried to reign without it or to
simply use it to let it grant more taxes to his purposes. Charles was tried
and sentenced to death.
Monarchy in England ended in 1649.
Or so it seemed.
(On the right, you can see future Kings Charles II. and James II., with their sister Mary)
His eldest son Charles (1630-85) became King in name only after his father
was beheaded. He lived in exile in France most of the time, but was recognized
as King
in
Scotland and parts of Ireland, at least. When Oliver Cromwell
died in 1658 and his son wasn´t as able, the people (and even the
government) wanted to restore Monarchy. Charles arrived in London on his
30th birthday and became King Charles II. of England, known to the public
as "The Merry King", due to his rather, well, "merry" lifestyle. He produced
many (illegitimate) children, but no heir. One "significant" note regarding
theatre in those days: He allowed in 1662 that women´s parts in plays
should be played by women. Until then, all parts (think of "Romeo and Juliet")
were exclusively played by men... By the way, one of his mistresses was Nell
Gwynn, an actress. Above, you can see a (part of a) painting of Charles II.,
his signature on the left.
James II. (1633-1701) became King when his brother died in 1685. It was rather
unexpected
that he actually was crowned; the parliament had tried to exclude
him from the succession a few years before ("Exclusion Crisis"), as James,
the Duke of York then, was a confessing Catholic since 1672. Charles simply
dissolved parliament, and so James was able to access to the throne when
his brother died. He
soon
started to restore Catholicism and absolutism, but politicians in favour
of the Protestant Church contacted William, the Prince of Orange (who was
a great-grandson of James I.), and his wife Mary (who was James II.´s
daughter). Both were invited to reign instead; James fled when William and
Mary came to England. His attempts in late 1688 and 1689 to get the crown
back failed. This act was called "Glorious Revolution", as no one was killed
when England got rid of its King. His relatives reigned together as William
III. and Mary II., he himself died in his exile in France. The signature
on the right is another cut from a document, the painting on the left shows
James II. as he looked a few years after he was driven out of
England.
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