The King's Bed

Don Jordan — 2016

To refer to the private life of Charles II is to abuse the adjective. His personal life was anything but private. His amorous liaisons were largely conducted in royal palaces surrounded by friends, courtiers and literally hundreds of servants and soldiers. Gossip radiated throughout the kingdom.Charles spent most of his wealth and his intellect on gaining and keeping the company of women, from the lowest sections of society such as the actress Nell Gwyn to the aristocratic Louise de Kérouaille. Some of Charles' women played their part in the affairs of state, coloring the way the nation was run.Don Jordan and Michael Walsh take us inside Charles' palace, where we will meet court favorites, amusing confidants, advisors jockeying for political power, mistresses past and present as well as key figures in his inner circle such as his 'pimpmasters' and his personal pox doctor.The astonishing private life of Charles II reveals much about the man he was and why he lived and ruled as he did. The King's Bed tells the compelling story of a king ruled by his passion.

Reviews

Rachel Benton@readingwitch

Nov 17, 2021

I really enjoyed this book. I have been wanting to read it for a while now. With the second book "The King's revenge" coming out I decided it was time to read it. I learned that the authors were researching for the King's revenge had decided to write this book because they were interested in the women that came in out of the life of Charles II. I would not classify this bio of King Charles II, though it does talk a lot about him. This book goes into detail about his many mistresses, and goes into his marriage to Catherine of Braganza. For people who are knowledgeable in Charles II reign I don't think that your going to learn anything new. But I do think that for people starting out this book is a great source. Though I am familiar with the Stuart dynasty I have done gone into a in-depth study on him. I thought Henry VIII was bad, but he made him look like a choir boy. Charles is reputed as being the" Merry Monarch" but he could be as ruthless and just as cruel as his ancestor Henry VIII. Forcing his wife to be under the same roof as his pregnant mistress as her lady-in-waiting. He also kidnapped his first son and kept him from his mother. So Charles definitely had his dark moments. The story is written in chronological order starting with Charles earliest mistresses all the way to his death. The book just doesn't focus on his mistress though they play a huge part in this story. The authors talk extensively about his wife Catherine of Braganza. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I just think that Charles wanted a certain kind of woman and she didn't fit that mold. Though in the story you can see that she tried hard to catch her husband attention but efforts panned out. I guess one redeeming about Charles that he stuck by his wife even when his advisers were urging him to get a divorce. The only real problem I had with this book is that I thought that grammar was off. I usually fuss about that but the mistakes were to obvious to ignore. Other then that I thought this book was great and looking forward to reading "The King's revenge"