23 April: King Charles II

On this date in 1661, the English King Charles II was crowned. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. Charles II was born at St James's Palace on 29 May 1630, His parents were Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Henrietta Maria of France. He wasn’t their first child – they’d had another, which they’d also called Charles, but that baby died within a day of being born.
2. His father made him commander of English forces in the West Country at the age of 14. The rest of the family had been sent to safety in France.
3. After Charles I's execution at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, the Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II king. England, however, did not, and instead became a de facto republic led by Oliver Cromwell. Charles faced Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, but lost, and it was then that he fled to Europe and spent nine years in exile.
4. When Cromwell died and left his son, Richard, in charge. Richard wasn’t such a strong ruler, and the British people had grown tired of Oliver Cromwell’s draconian rules. They welcomed Charles II back to London on his 30^th birthday with open arms. Legal documents requiring the year his reign began would state 1649, the year of his father’s execution.
5. Charles II was a popular king and was known as the Merry Monarch. He re-instated Christmas as a holiday and liked to play cards and enjoy sports such as horse racing. He also enjoyed the theatre and particularly liked bawdy comedies. The Puritan era was at an end and "Restoration comedy" became a recognisable genre. It was he who brought to an end the custom of female parts in plays being played by boys. Theatre licences granted by Charles required that female parts be played by "their natural performers".
6. He also had a pet spaniel he was especially fond of and used to play with during council meetings. The breed was later named the King Charles Spaniel because of this.
7. He was very interested in science, despite the tutors he had as a young child believing that the study of science was not appropriate for a future king. However, as Charles grew older, the surgeon William Harvey was appointed his tutor, and as a result, Charles grew interested in the subject and while he was in exile, he studied physics, chemistry and mathematics. He was fascinated by the scientific developments of the time and had a particular interest in clock mechanisms. He kept seven Clocks in his bedroom. He also had a laboratory set up at his home where he could carry out experiments and observe others doing so.
8. He married a princess from Portugal, Catherine of Braganza. She was unable to provide him with a legitimate heir, suffering at least four miscarriages. Which is why, when he died, his brother, James, would succeed him. That said, he was known for having a string of mistresses, the best known being Nell Gwynn, and had many illegitimate offspring, several of whom were given titles or married titles. Diana, Princess of Wales, was descended from two of them, so when her son William takes the throne, he will be the first monarch in some time to be a direct descendant of Charles II.
9. When the Great fire of London broke out, Charles II took an active part in fighting it, risking his own life.
10. He died from a stroke on 6 February 1685, aged just 54. His illness and death was quite sudden and so some of his doctors suspected he’d been poisoned, although a more modern medical analysis suggests he had kidney failure. While he’d lived his life as a Protestant as he didn’t believe the people would accept a Catholic king, on his deathbed he converted to Catholicism. He also asked his brother James to look after his mistresses: "be well to Portsmouth, and let not poor Nelly starve".

Character birthday

Jennifer Butterworth, Olympic athlete who went to school with Fiona Kingston-Parker (Ivory) and was one of her friendship group. It was through Jennifer that Fiona first heard of Richard Miller, another athlete that Jennifer had a crush on. She was therefore curious, when she learned Richard was at the same university as she was, to meet him. Jennifer appears in Eternal Flame.

Eternal Flame

The Freedom League's numbers have dwindled to three - but leader Unicorn knows his team isn't finished yet. The turning point comes with Russell, a boy with bright red hair and a genetic variant ability to start fires. He's the first of an influx of new members who will take the League into the future. 

Judith and Wil are child prodigies - Judith in physics and electronics, and Wil in medicine. They have another thing in common - they are both genetic variants. And another thing - they both have fiery red hair. They are drawn to one another as their destinies intertwine, but the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly!

Richard is not a variant. He's an Olympic athlete who has picked up useful knowledge from his unusual friends to add to his own natural abilities. A chance encounter with a dying alien throws him into a Freedom League mission in which his skills are put to the ultimate test, along with theirs.

The Freedom League's arch-enemy, the super-villain Obsidian, wants his family fortune all to himself. One person stands in his way - his niece, Fiona. Fiona, devastated by a family tragedy and her failure to get in to her first choice university, is miserable and has few friends. When she realises her brother's death was no accident, and his killer is also after her, she fears it may be too late to gather allies around her and learn how to use her own genetic variant powers.

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