A timeline of the Restoration period

1 January 1651

Charles II is crowned king of Scotland at Scone Abbey having already, in June 1650, reluctantly promised to establish Presbyterianism (a branch of Protestantism originating in Scotland) across all three kingdoms.

3 September 1651

Hoping to take back the English crown, Charles II and his mainly Scottish army take on Oliver Cromwell’s superior forces at Worcester and lose. The young king narrowly evades capture and is forced to flee to France, disguised as a servant.

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3 September 1658

Oliver Cromwell dies, aged 59. His eldest son, Richard, succeeds him as lord protector.

May 1659

With little political or military experience, Richard Cromwell is unable to command the respect or confidence of the army and parliament. Nine months after his father’s death, he resigns, ending the Protectorate.

4 April 1660

The exiled king issues the Declaration of Breda, outlining his terms for a restoration of the monarchy, including freedom of religious conscience and a “general pardon” for those who swear loyalty to him. It is made public on 1 May.

29 May 1660

Charles II triumphantly enters London on his 30th birthday. His huge procession makes its way to Whitehall, where the king meets with peers and MPs, who queue to kiss his hand.

• Read more | How Charles II put Britain back together after the Civil War

November 1660

The Royal Society is founded at Gresham College, London.

30 January 1661

The bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Robert Blake, John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton – all instrumental in the trial and execution of Charles I – are exhumed and posthumously hanged, drawn and quartered, after which their heads are placed on spikes above Westminster Hall.

23 April 1661

Charles II is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey. The loss or destruction of the Crown Jewels during the Commonwealth era has seen new pieces of royal regalia specially made for the occasion.

19 May 1662

The Act of Uniformity enforces the use of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. More than 2,000 clergymen refuse to comply and are expelled from the Church of England.

21 May 1662

Charles II marries the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza.

October 1662

In need of money, Charles agrees to sell Dunkirk, which has been in English hands since 1658, to Louis XIV of France for 5 million livres (around £320,000). The price is later brought down by a 12 per cent discount.

March 1665 – July 1667

The Second Anglo-Dutch War, stemming from commercial rivalry between England and the Dutch Republic, ends in victory for the Dutch.

1665–66

The Great Plague of London kills as many as 100,000 people, roughly 20 per cent of the city’s population. It is the worst outbreak of plague in England since the Black Death of 1348.

February 1666

Catherine of Braganza suffers a miscarriage. She will lose two more pregnancies before 1669 and will never bear a living heir for the king.

• Read more | Coffee, plague and the Great Fire: the pleasures and perils of living in Restoration London

2 September 1666

The Great Fire of London begins in a baker’s shop off Pudding Lane. Some 13,200 houses, as well as St Paul’s Cathedral, are destroyed. The financial costs are estimated at £10 million.

Summer 1667

Charles forms the Cabal ministry, a private group of high councillors who help him extend his power. The first letters of the names or titles of the five most prominent men – Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale – give the Cabal its name.

April 1668

Charles begins a relationship with orange seller-turned actor Nell Gwyn.

June 1670

Charles signs a secret treaty with Louis XIV. In it he promises to convert to Catholicism at a future date and provide warships and soldiers to help the French war against the Dutch, in return for French subsidies.

March 1672

Charles bypasses parliament and issues the Declaration of Indulgence, which states that penal laws against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters will be removed. Parliamentary protests see the proclamation revoked.

1672–74

According to the terms of his secret treaty with the French king, Charles sends the English navy to support France in its war with the Dutch Republic.

March 1675

John Flamsteed is appointed the first astronomer royal. He is charged with drawing up an accurate map of the night sky, which can be used for navigation.

September 1678

A renegade Anglican clergyman named Titus Oates informs parliament of a fictitious plot (known as the Popish Plot) alleging that members of the Jesuit religious order are planning to assassinate Charles II and bring his brother James, Duke of York to the throne.

• On the podcast | Dr Clare Jackson tackles listener questions on the reestablishment of the monarchy

1679–81

A parliamentary bill is introduced in May 1679, intended to exclude Charles II’s Catholic brother and heir from the succession. The so-called Exclusion Crisis continues until 1681, when Charles dissolves parliament for the last time before his death.

May 1679

The Habeas Corpus act is passed, ensuring that no one can be imprisoned unlawfully. The term – Latin for “you may have the body” – has ancient beginnings in the common law of England, dating back before the creation of Magna Carta in 1215.

Early 1683

A group of Protestants, including James, Duke of Monmouth (an illegitimate son of Charles II), plan to murder the king and his heir in the Rye House Plot.

6 February 1685

Charles II dies at the Palace of Whitehall, having apparently suffered a stroke a few days earlier. In his final moments he converts to Roman Catholicism, taking Communion, and is anointed with holy oil. His younger brother succeeds him as James VII and II.

This article was first published in the Christmas 2022 issue of BBC History Revealed