| Authorised form of name | Charles II (1630 - 1685); King of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Other forms of surname | Stuart |
| Dates | 1630 - 1685 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | St James's Palace, London, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 29 May 1630 |
| Place of death | Whitehall Palace, London, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 6 February 1685 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Baptism:
St James's Palace, London, England, Europe (27 June 1630)
Burial:
Westminster Abbey, London, England, Europe (14 February 1685) |
| Activity | Education:
Tutored by Dr Brian Duppa
Career:
In exile in Europe, from where he made several attempts to invade England and Scotland (1646-1660); crowned King of Scots at Scone (1651); acceded to the throne of England and Ireland (1660); deposed as King of Scots by the Declaration of Sanquhar (1680) |
| Membership category | Founder |
| Date of election | 09/01/1665 |
| Age at election | 34 |
| Other Royal Society activity | Although he granted the Society a royal charter and was also engaged in sending gifts and queries via more prominent royalist Fellows, he never attended a single meeting and proceeded to take little interest in the Society's activities |
| Relationships | Parents: King Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
Siblings: James [V]II (FRS 1665)
Married: Catherine of Braganza
Children: no legitimate children; at least 12 illegitimate children |
| PublishedWorks | RCN: 32802 |
| OtherInfo | Aside from his patronage of the Royal Society, Charles supported a variety of activities in natural philosophy. He founded the Mathematical School at Christ's Hospital as well as the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Furthermore, he had his own chemistry laboratory, where dissections were sometimes carried out and observed as well.
His reign and the time period surrounding it are considered a tumultuous time in British history, with the Civil Wars, the Anglo-Dutch Wars, as well as the Exclusion Crisis, for example. In 1663, Charles granted a second charter to the Royal Adventurers (later the Royal African Company), of which almost half the named members in the Charter were already involved or would later be involved with the Royal Society. This charter marks the official beginning of the transatlantic slave trade in the English and then British Empire, with the RAC having a monopoly on the transportation of enslaved people. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
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| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; ODNB
'Charter granted to the Company of Royal Adventurers of England Related to Trade in Africa, 1663', British Library [https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/charter-granted-to-the-company-of-royal-adventurers-of-england-relating-to-trade-in-africa-1663; last accessed 03/05/2022]
References:
Sir Bernard Lovell, 'Address at Westminster Abbey, on the Occasion of the Tercentenary of the Royal Greenwich Observatory' in NR 1975-6 vol 30 pp 127-132
John Thomas, 'Josiah Wedgwood's Portrait Medallions of Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 45-53, plate
Sir Harold Hartley, 'The Tercentenary of the Royal Society's Charter' in NR 1962 vol 17 pp 111-116, plate
M L Wolbarsht and D S Sax, 'Charles II, a Royal Martyr' in NR 1961 vol 16 pp 154-157
E S de Beer, 'King Charles II, Fundator et Patronus (1630-1685)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 39-45, plate
N J W Thrower, 'Samuel Pepys FRS (1633-1733) and The Royal Society' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 3-13
Marshall J. 2013. 'Whig Thought and the Revolution of 1688–91', in Harris, T., & Taylor, S. (Eds.). (2015). The final crisis of the Stuart monarchy: the revolutions of 1688–91 in their British, Atlantic and European contexts |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/88984774 |
| Code | NA8166 |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| MM/11/26 | Draft of the Petition of the Royal Society for the grant by Charles II of Chelsea College and lands | c.1660s |
| EL/S1/98 | Letter, from Franciscus de le Boe Sylvius to King Charles II, dated at Leyden | 1671 |
| DM/5/53 | Fair copy of a diploma for Johannes Hevelius, marking his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society | 15 April 1664 |
| DM/5/111 | List of actions of Charles II as founder and patron to the Royal Society | 17th-18th century |
| DM/5/112 | List of actions of Charles II as founder and patron to the Royal Society | 17th-18th century |
| MOB/001 | Royal Society Mace | 1663 |
| MOB/014 | Unknown terrellae | 17th century |
| DM/5/101 | A list of benefactors to the Museum, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| IM/000804 | Charles II, King of Great Britain and Ireland | |
| IM/000805 | Portrait of Charles II by Sir Peter Lely with the mace below | nd |
| EL/H3/11 | Letter, from Johann Ludwig Hannemann to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Buxtehude | 3 January 1672 |
| S/0003 | Sculpture bust of Charles II, King of Great Britain and Ireland | 1780 |
| P/0022 | Portrait of Charles II; King of Great Britain and Ireland | |
| P/0215 | Portrait of Charles II | 1750 |
| EL/B1/4 | Letter, from William Brouncker to the Duke of Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | 3 January 1662 |
| EL/B1/1 | Letter, from William Brouncker to King Charles II | 3 September 1662 |
| CLP/24/79 | Petitions, 'The humble Petition of Henry Oldenburg' by Henry Oldenburg and 'The Humble Petition of Georgius Casparus Kirchmajer' by Georgiys Casparus Kirchmajer to [King Charles II of England] | 17th century |
| AP/28/27 | Paper, 'History of the mace given to the Royal Society by Charles the Second' by Charles Richard Weld | April 1846 |
| CLP/6/51 | Paper, 'An account of R Boyle's way of examining waters as to freshnes and saltnes' by Robert Boyle | 30 October 1683 |