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<span>Charles IIKing of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland<span>Reign<span>May 29, 1660–February 6, 1685
(de jure king from January 30, 1649–May 29, 1660)</span></span><span>BornMay 29, 1630</span>St. James's Palace<span>DiedFebruary 6, 1685</span><span>BuriedWestminster Abbey</span><span>Predecessor<span>Richard Cromwell (de facto)
Charles I (de jure)</span></span><span>SuccessorJames II</span><span>ConsortCatherine of Braganza</span><span>Royal HouseStuart</span><span>FatherCharles I</span><span>MotherHenrietta Maria</span></span>
Charles II (May 29, 1630 – February 6, 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from January 30, 1649 (de jure) or May 29, 1660 (de facto) until his death. His father Charles I had been executed in 1649, following the English Civil War; the monarchy was then abolished and England, and subsequently Scotland and Ireland, became a united republic under Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector (see Commonwealth of England and The Protectorate), albeit with Scotland and Ireland under military occupation and de facto martial law. In 1660, shortly after Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored under Charles II. He was popularly known as the "Merry Monarch" in reference to the liveliness and hedonism of his court.
The exact date that Charles became king is vague due to the uncertain political situation of the time. His father was executed on January 30, 1649, making him in theory King Charles II from that moment. He was immediately proclaimed king in Scotland on February 5 and Jersey on February 16, 1649, but was also recognized in a few British colonies (especially the Colony and Dominion of Virginia). In Scotland Charles was for some time king in title only. It took two years of negotiation with the Presbyterians before he was finally crowned King of Scots in Scone on January 1, 1651. However, his reign there was short lived as he was soon driven out by the republican armies, led by Oliver Cromwell. His coronation in England would not be until after Cromwell's death and the monarchy's restoration in May 1660; Charles spent most of the intervening time exiled in France.
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