Charles II and the restoration of the monarchy Name: Class: Teacher: Task 1: List the differences between the two pictures above. Who was Charles II? The story of Charles II begins with his father, Charles I. Charles I ascended the English throne in 1625 and soon married a French Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria, who was not well liked by English Protestants because she openly practiced Catholicism during her husband’s reign. The most outspoken Protestants, the Puritans, had a strong voice in Parliament in the 1620s, and they strongly opposed the king’s marriage and his ties to Catholicism. When Parliament tried to argue against his actions, including the king’s efforts to impose taxes without Parliament’s consent, Charles I suspended Parliament in 1629 and ruled without one for the next eleven years. The struggle between the king and Parliament led to the outbreak of war. The English Civil War lasted from 1642 to 1649; the king and his Royalist supporters fought against Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentary forces. After years of fighting, the Parliamentary forces gained the upper hand, and in 1649, they charged Charles I with treason and beheaded him. The monarchy was dissolved, and England became a republic: a state without a king. Though Cromwell enjoyed widespread popularity at first, over time he appeared to many in England to be taking on the powers of a dictator. Dissatisfaction with Cromwell grew. When he died in 1658 and control passed to his son Richard, who lacked the political skills of his father. They had had enough and asked Charles II to be king. In 1660, they welcomed the son of the executed king Charles I back to the throne to resume the English monarchy. The return of Charles II is known as the Restoration. Charles II, son of Charles I, became King of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland in 1660 as a result of the Restoration Settlement. Charles ruled to 1685 and his reign is famous for the 1665 Great Plague that primarily affected London and the 1666 Great Fire of London. Probably most peoples’ perception of Charles II is of a man who wanted to enjoy himself – and there can be little doubt that Charles disappointed with regards to this – hence his nickname ‘The Merry Monarch’. Task 2: Answer the following questions 1. Why was Charles I an unpopular King? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 2. How many years did the English Civil War last for? ___________________________________________________________ 3. What happened to Charles I? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 4. Why was Charles II invited by Parliament to return to England as King? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 5. What was Charles II’s nickname and why? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Task 3: Try to come up with your own definitions for the key words below. You may find some of these difficult to define, but try your best. The answers are on the next page for you to check your understanding. Execute: ___________________________________________________________ Restore: ___________________________________________________________ Parliament: ___________________________________________________________ Dissolve: ___________________________________________________________ Dissatisfaction: ___________________________________________________________ Suspended: ___________________________________________________________ Monarch: ___________________________________________________________ Republic: ___________________________________________________________ Tax: ___________________________________________________________ Oppose: ___________________________________________________________ Reign: ___________________________________________________________ Political: ___________________________________________________________ Answers Execute: Kill Restore: Bring back / repair or return something back to its original condition Parliament: Law-making organisation Dissolve: Close down / get rid of Dissatisfaction: Not happy / Not satisfied with something Suspended: Stopped / Prevented from carrying out role Monarch: Ruler, King or Queen Republic: A state that is ruled without a Monarch Tax: Compulsory payment to the state / government Oppose: Go against Reign: Rule / Period of rule Political: Relating to rule / power / government Task 4: What kind of king was Charles II? Use the word bank below to fill in the information about King Charles II on the following page. Challenge: Fill in the gaps without the word bank. Use a pencil so that you can correct any mistakes later. Word Bank: Protestant, museum, tackle, liked, spend, Spaniel, country, London, theatres, Christmas, accounts, punish, tea, reopened, beheaded, reign, attempt After Charles I was executed, Oliver Cromwell took charge of the ____________. He banned dancing, th________, pubs, gambling, maypoles and even Christmas. Luckily for the people of England, Charles II liked to party! Charles II brought peace to the people of England. C___________ was celebrated again and theatres were re____________. Charles II promised to __________ the men responsible for his father’s death and was true to his word. He had the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, Thomas Pride and John Bradshaw dug up and they were hung at Tyburn. Oliver Cromwell’s body was b__________ and his head was stuck on a pike at London Bridge after it was paraded through the streets of the capital. Charles II liked to s________! He became known for spending huge amounts of money and was responsible for leaving the bank a__________ of England rather empty. Charles II was a Catholic at heart and during his r________ he tried to relax the laws against the Catholics. He lived his life as a ___________, however, and only converted to Catholicism on his deathbed as he didn’t think the people would have welcomed a Catholic King. Charles II was a big dog lover and had a spaniel he was very fond of – so much so that he played with the dog during council meetings! The breed of dog became hugely popular after the King showed such an interest and was as a consequence named after him: the King Charles S___________. Charles II showed his bravery when the Great Fire of _________ broke out in 1666. He got involved in helping to t_______ the fire himself, putting his own life at risk. Charles was a very experienced rider and not only _________ to visit Newmarket races but often raced horses himself there too! The late Diana, Princess of Wales was a descendant of Charles II, therefore so are her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry! The Royal Observatory in Greenwich was founded by Charles II in 1675. The Observatory is now part of the National Maritime M__________. Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza, introduced ________ drinking to England. A rare ‘wanted’ poster for Charles II was sold at an auction in Shropshire for just over £33,000 in 2012. The poster offered a reward of £1000 for the capture of Charles who had escaped after the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the year the Prince made an _________ to regain the English throne. Task 5: Extended piece of writing. Using your knowledge from the previous booklet on Stuart monarch’s, as well as the information in this booklet, write a diary entry from the perspective of somebody that has experienced the reign of Charles II. Things to consider: What is life in England like now that Charles II is King? How has life changed / stayed the same for the people of England? Is Charles a better monarch than those before him? Bring in details of how Cromwell ruled England What are the strengths and limitations of Charles II’s monarchy? What might you do differently? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________- ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________