Charles II
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St Edward’s Crown: a Restoration gift from Parliament
During the coronation of King Charles III this May, he will be crowned with the St Edward’s Crown. Dr Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow of our House of Lords 1640-1660 project, reflects on the origin of this crown and its purpose…
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March 1672: The Declaration of Indulgence
In March 1672 Charles II issued a document to remove harsh sanctions against religious non-conformity. But what brought about this ‘Declaration of Indulgence’ and why was a supposedly tolerant measure met with heavy criticism? History of Parliament Director Dr Paul…
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The Mystery of the ‘Black Box’ and the ‘true’ heirs of Charles II
In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles probes the mysteries of the ‘black box’ that was supposed to contain proof of Charles II’s marriage to his mistress, Lucy Walters, and how the family of the duke…
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The Return of Charles II, 29 May 1660
In today’s blog Dr Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow in our Commons 1640-1660 project, returns to his exploration of the days leading up to the restoration of Charles II. In this final instalment, we turn to 29 May 1660, as…
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Towards the Restoration of the Monarchy, 1-8 May 1660
Today’s blog from Dr Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow for our Commons 1640-1660 project, is the second in a three-part series about the parliament responsible for the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 (part one available here). In this piece…
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The Exclusion Parliaments
This blog from Paul Seaward, British Academy/Wolfson Research Professor at the History of Parliament Trust, is part of our Named Parliaments series. He explores the so-called exclusion crisis of the late seventeenth century. You might also be interested in Paul’s…
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The Cavalier Parliament
Our ‘Named Parliaments’ series continues. Today Paul Seaward, British Academy/Wolfson Research Professor at the History of Parliament Trust explores the Cavalier Parliament, the first Parliament after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660… The Parliament elected in April 1661 was…
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The importance of royal pardons in Restoration England.
The UK is celebrating the centenary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which allowed some women to vote for the first time. This has enlivened a debate relating to the posthumous pardon of Suffragettes convicted…
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Clarendon’s impeachment
Impeachment is a procedure rarely used in the British Parliament these days, but it is a procedure of historic importance, as discussed in our Director’s Blog here and in our post on its use in the early 17th century here.…
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The Dismissal of Clarendon
350 years ago this month, the Lord Chancellor, Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, was dismissed following the disaster on the Medway. Our Director, Dr Paul Seaward, tells us more… On the evening of 30th August 1667 one of the two…
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Chatham and the failure of English Politics
350 years ago this week the British navy suffered a disaster after the Dutch Raid on the Medway. In this blog our Director, Dr Paul Seaward, discusses the parliamentary background to one of the worst defeats in British naval history… …
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17th Century Papal elections: Charles II’s unorthodox role
After this week’s excitement from the Vatican, Dr Robin Eagles shares a story of 17th Century papal elections that the Stuarts really were not supposed to have been involved in… Charles II has frequently been suspected of Catholic sympathies. It…