Cultural depictions of Charles II of England
Encyclopedia
Literature
- Charles appears as Arethusius in Sir Percy Herbert's lengthy novel The Princess Cloria (1653–61), which fictionalizes his early life up to the coronation in 1660. Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of OrangeMary, Princess Royal and Princess of OrangeMary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
, a sister of Charles II, was depicted as "Cloria". - Charles is a character in the novel The Children of the New ForestThe Children of the New ForestThe Children of the New Forest is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth.-Plot summary:...
(1847) by Frederick MarryatFrederick MarryatCaptain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
. - Charles appears in The Black Pearl (1982), Volume 5 of The The Morland DynastyThe Morland DynastyThe Morland Dynasty is a series of historical novels by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, based around the Morland family of York, England and their national and international relatives and associates.There are currently thirty-two books in the series...
, a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-EaglesCynthia Harrod-EaglesCynthia Harrod-Eagles is a prolific and successful British novelist, best known for her Morland Dynasty series.Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born in Shepherd's Bush, London and educated at Burlington School. Her first successful novel was The Waiting Game , and she became a full-time writer in...
. This volume covers the Restoration period and Charles has family links to the fictional Morland family.
Film
Charles has been portrayed on screen by:- Augustus Neville in the silent film Sweet Nell of Old DrurySweet Nell of Old DrurySweet Nell of Old Drury is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. It is based on the 1900 play of the same name by Paul Kester...
(1911), based on the earlier play by Paul KesterPaul KesterPaul Kester was a U.S. playwright.He was the younger brother of Vaughan Kester and a cousin of William Dean Howells.... - P.G. Ebbutt in the silent films King Charles (1913) and Old St. Paul's (1914), based on novels by Harrison Ainsworth
- Owen MooreOwen MooreOwen Moore was an Irish-born actor in American films, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.-Life and career:...
in the silent film Mistress Nell (1915) - Harry Southard in the silent film The Adventurer (1920)
- William Luff in the silent film The Glorious Adventure (1922)
- Lewis GilbertLewis Gilbert (actor)-Selected filmography:* She Stoops to Conquer * The Manxman * The Mystery Road * The Oath * Dick Turpin's Ride to York * The Hound of the Baskervilles * The House of Peril...
in the silent film Bonnie Prince Charlie (1923) - Dwight WimanDwight Deere WimanDwight Deere Wiman was an American silent movie actor, playwright and theatrical director. He is best known as a Broadway producer.-Early life & Education:...
in the silent film Peter Stuyvesant (1924) - Randle AyrtonRandle AyrtonRandle Ayrton was a British actor, producer and director.-Career:Ayrton was educated at the King's School in Chester and Geneva University. In 1890 he made his stage debut at the Old Avenue Theatre in London and has been successful on stage in London and in America into the late 1930s...
in the silent film Nell Gwynne (1926), based on a novel by Joseph Shearing - Cedric HardwickeCedric HardwickeSir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
in Nell Gwyn (1934) - Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
in Colonel Blood (1934), telling the story of Thomas BloodThomas BloodColonel Thomas Blood was an Irish colonel best known for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671... - Vincent PriceVincent PriceVincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
in Hudson's Bay (1941) - Dennis ArundellDennis ArundellDennis Drew Arundell was a British actor, librettist, opera scholar, translator, producer, director, conductor and composer of incidental music.-Selected filmography:...
in Penn of Pennsylvania (1942), telling the story of William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful... - Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Exile (1947), based on a novel by Cosmo HamiltonCosmo HamiltonCosmo Hamilton , born Henry Charles Hamilton Gibbs, was an English playwright and novelist. He took his mother's maiden name when he began to write. Hamilton was married twice: First to Beryl Faber, née Beryl Crossley Smith, the sister of C...
- George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
in Forever AmberForever Amber (film)Forever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
(1947), based on the novel by Kathleen WinsorKathleen WinsorKathleen Winsor was an American author, best known for the romance novel Forever Amber.-Biography:Winsor was born October 16, 1919 in Olivia, Minnesota but raised in Berkeley, California. At the age of 18, Winsor made a list of her goals for life. Among those was her hope to write a best-selling...
, and The King's Thief (1955) - Anthony HulmeAnthony Hulme-Selected filmography:* A Yank at Oxford * The Body Vanished * The Frozen Limits * They Came by Night * Laugh It Off * Journey Together * Send for Paul Temple * Cardboard Cavalier...
in the comedy Cardboard Cavalier (1949) - Curt Bois in Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950), based on the novelCaptain Blood (novel)Captain Blood: His Odyssey is an adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1922.- Synopsis :The protagonist is the sharp-witted Dr...
by Rafael SabatiniRafael SabatiniRafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father... - Lester MatthewsLester MatthewsLester Matthews was an English actor born in Nottingham, England, UK. In his career, he made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was on occasion erroneously credited as Lester Mathews and especially in later years was sometimes known as Les Matthews. He died on the 6 June 1975...
in Lorna DooneLorna DooneLorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
, based on the novel by R. D. BlackmoreR. D. BlackmoreRichard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world... - Gabriele Antonini in the Italian film D'Artagnan contro i tre moschettieri (1963), about the Three Musketeers
- Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
in the comedy Father Came Too!Father Came Too!Father Came Too! is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott. It is a sequel to The Fast Lady.-Plot:Dexter and Juliet Munro are a married couple who move to a run-down cottage in hopes of escaping from Juliet's overbearing father. However, the couple are soon confronted by their...
(1963) - Mark BurnsMark BurnsMark Burns was an English film and television actor.Burns was born in Bromsgrove in the county of Worcestershire and educated at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire...
in The Wicked LadyThe Wicked LadyThe Wicked Lady is a 1945 film starring Margaret Lockwood in the title role as a nobleman's wife who secretly becomes a highwayman for the excitement...
(1983) - Simon CallowSimon CallowSimon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
in England, My England (1995), the story of the composer Henry PurcellHenry PurcellHenry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music... - Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
in Restoration (1995) - Rupert EverettRupert EverettRupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
in Stage BeautyStage BeautyStage Beauty is a 2004 British-American-German romantic period drama directed by Richard Eyre. The screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher is based on his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17th century actor Edward Kynaston made in the detailed private diary kept by...
(2004) - John MalkovichJohn MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
in The LibertineThe Libertine (2005 film)The Libertine is a 2004 film starring Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton and Rosamund Pike. Directed by Laurence Dunmore in his first outing and adapted by Stephen Jeffreys' from his play of the same name, the film stars Johnny Depp as John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, a notorious rake...
(2004), based on the play by Stephen JeffreysStephen JeffreysStephen Jeffreys is a British playwright.His plays include Like Dolls or Angels ; Carmen 1936 ; Valued Friends ; The Clink ; The Libertine - also a screenplay filmed with Johnny Depp; A Going...
Television
On television, Charles has been portrayed by:- Barry K. BarnesBarry K. BarnesBarry K. Barnes was a British film actor. He was born in London. He appeared in sixteen films between 1936 and 1947...
in the BBC TV drama Thank You, Mr. Pepys (1938) - David CargillDavid CargillDavid Cargill is a Scottish former professional association football player who played as a left winger.-External links:* at the Post-War Player Database...
in the BBC TV drama series The Children of the New Forest (1964) - James VilliersJames VilliersJames Michael Hyde Villiers was a British character actor and a familiar face on British television...
in the BBC TV series The First ChurchillsThe First ChurchillsThe First Churchills was a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough...
(1969) - Simon TrevesSimon TrevesFrederick Simon Treves, known as Simon Treves, is an English actor, director and writer probably best known for playing Harold 'Stinker' Pinker in three series of ITV's Jeeves and Wooster.-Biography:...
in the BBC TV drama series By the Sword DividedBy the Sword DividedBy the Sword Divided is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1983 and 1985.The series was a historical drama set during the mid 17th century, dealing with the impact of the English Civil War on the fictional Lacey family, made up of both Royalist and Parliamentarian supporters.It...
(1983) - Michael YorkMichael York (actor)Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
in the British TV drama The Lady and the HighwaymanThe Lady and the HighwaymanThe Lady and the Highwayman is a 1989 UK TV movie based on Barbara Cartland's Romance Novel Cupid Rides Pillion. The working title of the film was Dangerous Love....
(1989) - Michael MaloneyMichael MaloneyMichael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....
in the BBC TV drama series Children of the New Forest (1998) - Rufus SewellRufus SewellRufus Frederik Sewell is an English actor. In film, he has appeared in The Woodlanders, Dangerous Beauty, Dark City, A Knight's Tale, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth...
in the BBC TV miniseries Charles II: The Power & the Passion (2003) - Nathaniel ParkerNathaniel ParkerNathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...
in the BBC drama The Private Life of Samuel Pepys (2003) - Julian WadhamJulian Wadham-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
in the BBC drama documentary Wren: The Man Who Built Britain (2004) - Michael BoisvertMichael BoisvertMichael "Monkey" Boisvert, born in Timmins, Ontario in 1973, is a Canadian actor and choreographer.Boisvert studied business at university, but left, before graduating, to become a model. He later turned to acting, moving to New York and then California to pursue work opportunities...
in the American TV series Young BladesYoung BladesYoung Blades is an historical fantasy television series that aired on PAX from January to June 2005, lasting only thirteen episodes before cancellation...
(2005) - Richard Druitt in the British TV drama documentary True Caribbean Pirates (2006)
- Mathew BayntonMathew BayntonMathew Baynton is an English actor and writer. He stars in the UK television series Horrible Histories as a singer, actor and writer. He also played Deano in Gavin & Stacey. Mat is also in the band Special Benny and also has a separate solo career under the name of Dog Ears...
in the British TV comedy series Horrible Histories" (2010–present)