First, a little about
him…
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| King Charles II |
King Charles II lived
a life full of sex and sport. During his youth, he learned to keep his own
counsel. He was kind natured, only allowing his need for revenge against a few
of the regicides. Cromwell was one of these, even though already dead and
buried.
Charles took a long
time to come to a state decision. He’d put it off with a wave of his hand, and
play with one of his women. He loved spaniels, and several romped in his private
chambers, soiling the floors so that no one could walk across the room in a
straight line.
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| Charles' siblings with their spaniels |
Even though he
reigned in a Protestant country, while on the run in 1651 after his defeat at
the Battle of Worcester, Charles was protected at their peril by Catholics. For
a few hours, Charles hid in a priest hole, very snug and claustrophobic, while
Parliament men searched for him. By the end of his trek through England and
into exile, Charles had gained a high regard for Catholics and Catholicism.
But I digress.
While Charles
reigned, he did not confide in many. He was considered an enigma by both his
contemporaries and those who study him. He had a kind heart. His nature made
people comfortable. They confided in him, wanted to be near him. But when
Charles wanted to be alone, or was tired of the subject, he’d pull out his
watch. Those who knew of this would quickly state their business, for soon
their king would walk away.
Charles loved reading
(not political or religious). He brought great strides to the theatre sector,
and he enjoyed science. In 1660, he approved a charter for The Royal Society.
The group of great minds, Isaac Newton for one, met at Gresham College in London
City. Experiments took place there, including draining the veins of a dog into
the veins of another dog. The results amazed those curious people.
So, we come to his
death…
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| Cruel Medicine |
‘He fell sick of a
tertian fever’, but the official cause of death is: Uraemia (per
dictionary.com—“a condition resulting from the retention in the blood of
constituents normally excreted in the urine.”),
chronic nephritis.
Syphilis.
On the evening of
February 1, 1685, Charles went to bed with a sore foot. By early morning, he was
very ill with fever. His physician (Sir Edmund King) tended to his foot whilst
a barber shaved his head. Suddenly, the king suffered apoplexy. His physician
immediately withdrew sixteen ounces of blood. Sir Edmund took a big risk, and
could have been charged with treason. The protocol was to get permission from
the Privy Council prior to a bloodletting.
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| But they were learning. First microscope |
For several days,
Charles was tormented by his physicians. As a private man this must have been
difficult. Surrounded by more physicians than could gain his bed, they
attempted to remove the ‘toxic humours’ that penetrated his body.
He was bled and
purged. Cantharides plasters were stuck to his bald pate. They caused
blistering. They attached plasters of spurge to his feet, then red-hot irons to
his skin. Besides the large number of physicians crowding his bed, His Royal
Highness’ bedchamber was filled to the walls with spectators (family members
and state officials).
They gave the poor
king “enemas of rock salt and syrup of buckthorn, and ‘orange infusion of
metals in white wine’. The king was treated with a horrific cabinet of potions:
white hellebore root; Peruvian bark; white vitriol of peony water; distillation
of cowslip flowers; sal ammoniac; julep of black cherry water (an
antispasmodic); oriental bezoar stone from the stomach of a goat and boiled
spirits from a human skull.”
After days of this,
he apologized for taking so long to die, then added, “I have suffered much more
than you can imagine.”
Finally, on February
6, 1685 “the exhausted king, his body raw and aching with the burns and
inflammation caused by his treatment, was given heart tonics, to no avail. He
lapsed into a coma and died at noon on February 7.”
His death is
considered by historians as “iatrogenic regicide”.
~*~*~*~
I give thanks to Royal Poxes & Potions, The Lives of
Court Physicians, Surgeons & Apothecaries, by Raymond Lamont-Brown.
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