1-625-748 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Charles II in the forest of Boscobel, 1651. After the execution of his father, Charles I, Charles II claimed the throne and invaded England in 1651. He was defeated by the Parliamentarian army at the Battle of Worcester and was forced to hide in a hollow oak tree near Boscobel House in Shropshire to elude the Parliamentarian forces trying to capture him. Charles escaped into exile but returned when the monarchy was restored after the death of Oliver Cromwell and the end of the Protectorate.