Charles II

Around 1648, while he was living in The Hague, South Holland, he was romantically involved with Lucy Walter. The couple did not marry but had a son named, James Crofts.

In 1662, he married Catherine of Braganza, the daughter of the King of Portugal. Though Catherine did not bear him a child, he fathered many children through his illegitimate affairs with his mistresses including Barbara Villiers, Lady Castlemaine, Moll Davis, Nell Gwyn, Elizabeth Killigrew, Catherine Pegge, and Louise de K�rouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth.

He died at the age of 54 at the Whitehall Palace, London after suffering from an apoplectic fit four days earlier. At the time of his death, he admitted to being a Roman Catholic.

Charles II was born in the St. James's Palace, London to Charles I and Henrietta Maria. His father was the ruler of the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland.

He was baptised at The Chapel Royal, by the Anglican Bishop of London, William Laud. At the time of his birth, he was conferred with the title of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. At the age of eight, he acquired the title of Prince of Wales.

During the 1640s, he fully supported his father, who in turn fought the Parliamentary and Puritan forces in English Civil War.

By the time he turned fourteen, he was made titular commander of the English forces in the West Country and participated in the campaigns of 1645. However, with the imminent loss of his father, he fled first to Isles of Scilly, followed by Jersey and finally to France.

By 1648, he relocated to The Hague, South Holland, where his sister Mary and brother-in-law William II, Prince of Orange aided him in the royalist cause.

In 1649, his father was beheaded and that year the Parliament of Scotland declared him to be the King of Great Britain and Ireland. However, the English Parliament made the declaration unlawful.

He was not allowed to enter Scotland unless he accepted Presbyterianism in the British Isles. He later assigned General Montrose to threaten the Scots with an invasion that would force to bring upon an agreement which would be in favour of him. .

On June 23, 1650 he landed in Scotland, where he formally accepted Presbyterian Church governance and abandoned the Espiscopal governance in Britain. Though he won the support from Scotland, his move made him largely unpopular in Britain. He was crowned as the King of Scotland on January 1, 1651.

Later in 1651, the English Civil War came to an end after The Battle of Worcester, in which the Scottish forces were defeated by Oliver Cromwell. Evading capture, Charles II fled to England.

After the Battle of Worcester, Oliver Cromwell became the Lord Protector of Scotland, England, British Isles and Ireland while Charles II went in exile to France, the United Provinces and the Spanish Netherlands.

The period of rule of this English monarch, popularly referred to as Merry Monarch, is known as the Restoration Period.