The Court of King Charles II

Sibelle Stone

When King Charles I was disposed, and then executed in 1649, his son, Charles Stuart II, was forced into exile. He traveled to France and the court of his cousin, Louis XIV to Germany and the Spanish Netherlands. He lived an impoverished life of wandering as the King without a country.

After Oliver Cromwell’s death, the Protectorate, the government controlling England, was weak and dissolving. The restoration of the monarchy was achieved without war in May 1660, as Charles II returned to London to march triumphantly back into the streets as crowds cheered him.

Charles II was a popular king, as he reopened the theatres, hosted an opulent (and many said lurid and hedonistic court), enjoyed good food, fine wine, gambling and beautiful women. He was tall, dark-haired and was said to possess charisma Also, he was the King of England.

Although he married Catherine of Braganza of Portugal in 1662, despite several miscarriages, they never had any children together. Charles II did sire fourteen illegitimate children, but at his death, his brother James was his designated heir.

Among the many loves of Charles II,one of  his longest relationships was with Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and later Duchess of Cleveland. The ferocious and demanding Duchess  had a fiery temper, and she was never faithful to her lover. She conceived three children while at court at Whitehall, but there is some question as to the paternity. She was exiled to Paris in 1677.


Perhaps one of the most beloved of King Charles II’s many loves was the actress Nell Gwynne. She grew up in an impoverished state, was an orange girl, (selling oranges at the Duke’s House theatre when they met in 1668). Nell was loyal to her lover, gave birth to two illegitimate sons and created a salon for him in the homes he gave her. She often used her influence in the cause of others, and petitioned him to fund the Royal Hospital for injured soldiers.

On his deathbed in 1685,King Charles II begged his brother and successor, James  “Do not let poor Nelly starve.” James generously paid Nell's debts and gave her an allowance, but it was not for long. Nell at the age of 37 in 1687, just two years after her beloved King.

Like a fairy tale maiden rising from the ashes to the castle, Nell Gwynne became something of a legend, as a good-natured charmer, and an ordinary girl from the slums who ended up not with the Prince, but with the King.

In my recent release, "Whistle Down the Wind" the setting is 1664 England, but not the court of King Charles II, although references are made to it. The heroine’s older sister, Aelwyd, has visited court, and the hero, Sir Griffin Reynolds is a member of the King’s Coldstream Guards. While he’s been at court, he’s on a secret mission to scout out a Puritan plot in the colony of Jamestown to once again dispose the King of England.

Like the court of King Charles, the story is filled with action, adventure and sensuality

Witches!

In my book, Whistle Down the Wind, the story begins when the heroine, Catlin, is accused by the local witch hunter of practicing witchcraft. In the year 1664, this was a real possibility. And even though Catlin does have magical powers, it wasn't necessary to be able to harness the wind or command fire like the Glyndwr sisters of my series to be charged with witchcraft.

The following evidence would be enough to bring a woman to court on a charge of practicing witchcraft.

• Having a notorious reputation as a witch
• Cursing someone who later experiences some kind of misfortune
• Witnesses observing malice on the part of the accused witch, followed by misfortune on the part of the victim
• Being related by blood or friendship to a proven witch
• The victim recovering after the accused witch is scratched or her property burned
• Failure of the accused witch to sink when immersed in water, (this is called "swimming" the witch). Death proves the accused witch is innocent
• A confession of practicing witchcraft
• Deathbed accusation by the victim naming the witch as the cause of illness
• An un-natural mark on the body, (Devil's Mark), caused by demons or a familiar
• Two witnesses who claim to have seen the accused witch make a pact with Satan or entertain her familiars
• Being an "outsider" such as a widow, mid-wife, "cunning woman" or bearing some type of disfigurement or birth mark

In order to prove the accused guilty, mostly women -- although some men were also tried for practicing witchcraft, torture was used to elicit confessions. Although English law technically forbade the use of torture in witch trials, many means were employed to gain a confession.

The accused were beaten, starved, held in cells with no comforts, deprived of sleep and walked around until their feet blistered. Thumb screws were used to crush bones in hands along with leg screws. "Pricking" was used when a witch had a suspected "Devil's Mark" that consisted of a pointed dagger pushed into the mark because it was believed a witch couldn't feel pain on that spot.

"Strappado" was a particularly heinous torture, when the hands were bound then attached to a rope strung over a pulley that was affixed to the ceiling. The accused witch was hoisted up, then dropped suddenly. This often resulted in broken bones.

An investigation of witchcraft was generally a death sentence, so it will come as no surprise that my character, Catlin, is willing to bargain with the hero to escape from the gaol, (jail). What happens next?

I guess you'll have to read the book to find out!