boo-bunny

fuckyeahcharlesthesecond:

On 6th February 1685, Charles II died in his palace at Whitehall.

He had been ill for about a week, although nobody is quite sure what was wrong- the most likely suggestions are a stroke, poisoning from the mercury he worked with in his experiments, or Bright’s disease. Unfortunately, his doctors found it difficult to figure out what the problem was and resorted to some horrible treatments in order to cure him.

Before he died, Charles converted to the Catholic faith, finally ending the speculation on his religious views. He also said a series of farewells to his loved ones, including the most well-known of his last words in which he asked his brother to ‘not let poor Nelly starve’. His wife, Catherine, became so upset she had to be taken out of the room; she sent a message of apology, to which Charles responded,

“Alas! Poor woman. She beg my pardon! I beg hers with all my heart.”

At six o’clock on the morning of the 6th, Charles asked for the curtains to be drawn back so he could see the sun rise one last time. He died at noon and was buried later that week in Westminster Abbey.