Carolyn M Cash Freelance Journalist
Writer, History and Royalty
The Old Pretender was a pessimist living in exile whose attempt to claim the English, Scottish and Irish thrones failed in The Fifteen Jacobite rising. James Francis Edward was born 10 June 1688 amidst the warming-pan scandal. He fled with his mother, Mary Beatrice of Modena, to France when William of Orange’s invasion led to…
The foundations for Britain’s constitutional monarchy were laid when James II was forced to abdicate in favour of William III and Mary II. The origins of the Glorious Revolution, also known as the War of the English Succession or the Bloodless Revolution, began with the conflicts during Charles I’s reign which led to the Civil…
The Old Pretender was born amidst controversy as the Warming-pan Baby, and survived against all odds. James II had produced two daughters, Mary and Anne, from his first marriage to Anne Hyde. They became increasingly important when their uncle Charles II failed to produce a legitimate heir. Anne died in 1671 but she had supported…
The Monmouth Rebellion was an attempt to overthrow the new Catholic king James II and ended in defeat at Sedgemoor. The Monmouth Rebellion was one of two uprisings—one in England, and the other in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell, the 9th Earl of Argyll. James Duke of Monmouth was persuaded by Argyll to lead an…
James Crofts was the eldest and most beloved of Charles II’s horde of illegitimate children but his dramatic life was destined to end in tragedy. Charles II began an affair with a young English refugee, Lucy Walters, whilst in exile in 1658—his first serious liaison. James was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on 9…
Charles II made his triumphant royal entry into London to reclaim his three kingdoms on 29 May 1660. Many who welcomed the Restoration were soon disappointed. The Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell enjoyed stability since Charles I’s beheading in January 1649. However, Cromwell died on 3 September 1658 after a short period of illness. Anarchy Richard…
Charles II was best known as the Merry Monarch but his reign also saw the rise of colonisation and trade in India, the East Indies and America. He was born at St James’s Palace on 29 May 1630—the first surviving child of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. He was a robust and an exceptionally large…
The Great Plague was the biggest epidemic since the Black Death, as one-sixth of London’s population perished as the wealthy fled to their country estates. The Bubonic Plague was first reported in Great Yarmouth in November 1663 – allegedly imported from Holland in bales of merchandise. The disease was carried by flea-ridden rats. People were…
A massive rebuilding programme took place after London’s Great Fire in 1666 and took about fifty years to complete. The Great Fire destroyed three-quarters of the medieval city within one week, creating a damage bill estimated at nearly £10 million. The ground was too hot to walk on until the rains began on 11 September….
The Great Fire of London destroyed most of the medieval city within days. Some believed it was God’s judgement upon a sinful city, including Charles II’s debauched court. London was gripped by drought lasting from November 1665 to September 1666 – a cold dry winter followed by a prolonged hot summer. The water cisterns’ levels…
