CHARLES IL, King of England, the second son of Charles I., was born on the 29th of May, 1630. His elder brother, named Charles James, born 18th March 1629, had died on the day of hie birth. On the breaking out of the civil war, in 1642, the Prince of Wales, then only twelve years of age, was appointed by his father to the command of the troop of horse which ho raised as a body-guard on taking up his quarters at York ; and in 1645 he was sent to servo with the royal troops In the west, with the title of general On the ruin of the royal cause after the battle of Naseby, the prince retired, first to Scilly, and afterwards to Jersey, from whence in September 1040, he went to Paris, and joined the queen, his mother. lie after wards took up his residence at the Hague, and being there when he received the news of the death of his father, he immediately assumed the title of king. On the 3rd of February 1649, he was proclaimed king of Scotland at Edinburgh. Meantime he bad left Holland, and having gone in the first instance to Paris, had afterwards proceeded to Jersey. There he received the deputy of the Committee of Estates of Scotland, and agreed to accept the crown of that kingdom on the conditions imposed by the Presbyterians, who were the dominant party there. He arrived in the north of Scotland 23rd of June 1650, and having been forced to take the covenant before landing, was again pro claimed at Edinburgh on the 15th of July. On the 1st of January 1651, he was crowned at Scone. Cromwell however had already made him self master of the greater part of Scotland ; on which Charles adopted the resolution of marching to the south. He entered England on the 6th of August, and taking possession of the city of Carlisle, was there proclaimed king. The battle of Worcester however in which he was signally defeated by Cromwell, on the 3rd of September, put an end to his enterprise. For some weeks he wandered about in disguise ; at last on the 15th of October he embarked at Shoreham, in Sussex, and a few days after arrived in safety at Fescamp, in 'Normandy. From Fescamp be went to Paris, where he remained till June 1634. He then retired, first to Aix-la-Chapelle, and afterwards to Cologne ; but being obliged to leave the French territory on peace being concluded between England and France, iu October 1655, he retired to Bruges and resided afterwards principally at that town and at Brussels. He was at Brussels when he received the news of the death of Oliver Cromwell, in the beginning of September 1658. In the confusion into which everything fell in England after the resignation or deposition of the protector Richard, Charles removed to Calais, in August 1659, that he might be ready to take advantage of circumstances. He had still however to wait for some time longer. He opened a negociation with General Monk, in April 1660, at which time he was at Breda, having arrived there on the 4th of that month. His letters to the House of Lords, his majesty's gracious declaration to all his loving subjects (in which he promised much that he never performed), and his letter to the House of Commons, are all dated from the court at Breda in April 1660. On the let of May the parliament voted his restoration,
and he was proclaimed in London on the 8th. He embarked at the Hague on the 23rd of the same month, and entered London on the 29th.
We can give only a very general sketch of the progress of events during this reign. It commenced with a complete restoration of the ancient order of things, both in church and state. Although such of those concerned in the condemnation of the preceding king as could be apprehended were tried and execnted, this measure of vengeance appears to have been in accordance with the popular sentiment of the time ; and even the ejection of the Presbyterian clergy, which took place in August, 1662, excited no general manifestation of feeling against the government. The first of Charles's acts which seem to have been decidedly unpopular were his sale of Dunkirk to France, and his declaration of indulgence, intended to favour the Catholics, both of which proceedings took place In the latter part of this year. From this time Lord Clarendon, who had till now been the king's chief adviser, but who had opposed the indulgence, began to lose his infinene,e at court. That minister also speedily lost his popularity by resisting the war with Holland, into which feelings of commercial jealousy were precipitating the parliament and the nation. The war broke out in February 1665, and was soon made more serious by a rupture with France. Hostilities however were terminated for the present by the peace of Breda, concluded 10th of July 1667. This event was speedily followed by the dismissal of Clarendon from the administration, and eventually his banishment from the realm by act of parliament. In January 1668 was concluded, by the exertions of Sir William Temple, the treaty of triple alliance (as it was called) between England, Holland, and Sweden, with a view of opposing the schemes of France, almost the only meritorious act of this disgraceful reign. It was not long however before the formation of the famous ministry known by the name of the Cabal, whose designs were to make the power of the English crown absolute by the aid of the king of France, overturned the state of things thus established. An alliance with France was followed by a quarrel with Holland, against which power war was declared In March, 1672. These transactions however roused a violent popular opposition both in the nation and in parlia ment ; and after Shaftesbury, the head of the ministry, had retired from the storm, the king was compelled to make peace with Holland in February, 1674. Bat, although now standing neutral in the war, ho still maintained a close connection with the French king, from whom indeed there is no doubt that he was in the receipt of an annual pension.