Prof Kenneth Fincham: An Indulgent Monarch: the limits of Charles II’s kingship

Sun 27 April, 10 - 11am

Augustine Hall, AHg27, Augustine House, CT1 2YA

Charles II is known to have indulged himself with mistresses and merriment, which both titillated and scandalised contemporaries such as Samuel Pepys. This lecture will focus on religious ‘indulgence’ or toleration, which Charles II pursued, with very limited success, between 1660 and 1673. Why was the king so keen on offering toleration to both Catholics and protestants, especially when it encountered so much opposition: was it an expression of his secret Catholicism or a piece of statecraft to stabilise the country and build up his power within it? Why did so many MPs and Anglicans block his proposals? Did Charles II in fact prepare the way for the more confrontational push for toleration by his brother and successor James II?

Kenneth Fincham is Emeritus Professor at the University of Kent, and he has written a number of books on religion and politics in Britain from Edward VI to William and Mary. Among his publications are ‘Prelate as Pastor: the Episcopate of James I’ (1990); with Nicholas Tyacke, ‘Altars restored the Changing Face of English Religious Worship 1547 to 1700’ (2007) and ‘The Further Correspondence of William Laud’ (2018). He is currently working on the Restoration of Charles II; the Hampton Court conference of 1604; and a study of the creation of Anglicanism, c.1620-c.1750.

Tickets

Tickets are £10 per event. If you are booking 10 or more tickets of any given type (e.g. 10 tickets to one lecture, or 1 ticket to 10 lectures) within a single transaction, then a discount of £2 per ticket will be applied at the checkout, and you will only pay £8 per ticket.

Student discounts

There are a limited number of £2 student tickets available for talks scheduled in Augustine Hall, AHg27; these are not available for tours, or talks taking place in AH3.31. To access this discount, please use discount code HISTORY2025 when prompted during the booking process. Please note that student ID must be presented with student tickets on the door of the events.