The English Restoration - Charles II lands on British Soil
Dover, Kent The 25th of May 1660 AD
With the death of Cromwell in 1658 it became inevitable that the monarchy would be restored, though there were many hurdles to get over before this could be done. England was degenerating further into a military dictatorship, and needed military force to bring about the Restoration with the least possible bloodshed.
It was General George Monck, originally a Royalist but after the first Civil War fighting for Parliament, who acted as midwife for the new monarchy, using his Scottish army to pressure The Long Parliament into dissolution and bring about the Convention Parliament. He negotiated with Charles II , and ensured some legal framework was provided for the King’s return with the Declaration of Breda in May 1660.
When Charles and his brothers landed in Dover on May 25 1660 London had already declared him King. It was Monck who greeted the returning monarch on the shore at Dover, and the next day he was made a Knight of the Garter, a Dukedom soon following, testimony to Monck’s tough diplomacy and common sense in ensuring a relatively trouble free return of the Stuart dynasty.
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