25 May 1660
Restoration of the monarchy

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Charles II, son of Charles I, lands in England after his exile on the Continent during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. He is greeted at Dover by General George Monck, whose army has helped secure the Restoration. Prior to this, Charles issues the Declaration of Breda, which pardons his father's enemies and threatens punishment only for the regicides. It also promises a measure of religious toleration to those with 'tender consciences'. The Convention Parliament restores Charles as monarch and passes an Act of Indemnity and Oblivion, which offers an amnesty for offences committed during the Civil Wars. The king, House of Lords and Anglican bishops are restored.

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[As] republicans and regicides either crossed the Channel in the opposite direction [from the new king], used all their influence to escape punishment or waited with pale, stoical faces to account for themselves. there was a rustling as thousands of officials turned coat and a frantic scratching of quills on paper as poets who had perhaps eulogised the Protectorate polished their couplets to eulogise the monarchy.

From A Century of Troubles by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books)

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