The reconstitution of the royal court in 1660 brought with it the restoration of fears that had been associated with earlier Stuart courts: disorder, sexual liberty, popery and arbitrary government. This volume illustrates the ways in which court culture was informed by the heady politics of Britain between 1660 and 1685.

Tells the story of the most hedonistic, loose-living court in English history

This volume brings together ten distinguished scholars of history, literature, music, theatre, and art to explore the political and cultural implications of the court's transgressive new character.

Excerpt from Charles II and His Court This baby was Charles, Prince of Wales, born 29 May, 1630; his mother is describing him in a letter to her old governess, Mme. De Motteville. His birth was greeted by innumerable poems, most of them containing some allusion to the star which had been visible as Charles I rode to St. Paul's to give thanks for the Queen's delivery.2 From this omen most men presaged that that prince should be of high undertakings and of no common glory among kings. If he had spoken of this later in life, Charles II might well have anticipated the words of Pope's Achilles, Portents and prodigies are lost on me! If, however, the star was, as Lilly the astrologer declared, the planet Venus, its appearance was certainly appropriate enough. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.