Dan Snow's History Hit The Scandalous Private Life of Charles II
Feb 12, 2026
Dr Kate Lister, historian and host of the Betwixt the Sheets podcast, explores the salacious side of Restoration England. She traces Charles II’s exile and return, the revival of theatres and social life, French influence on courtly pleasure, the politics of royal mistresses, scandals like Nell Gwyn and Barbara Villiers, and how sex, power, and reputation collided at court.
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Restoration Reopened English Social Life
- Charles II's Restoration lifted Puritan restrictions and reopened theatres, taverns, and popular culture in cities.
- The court's permissive atmosphere earned him the nickname the 'Merry Monarch' and reshaped elite social life.
City Court Shifted Faster Than Countryside
- The Restoration court's permissiveness was concentrated in cities and at court rather than uniformly felt by rural populations.
- Reopening theatre and ending strict moral policing produced a visible cultural shift among elites.
French Influence Shaped Charles's Court
- Charles brought French courtly habits back to England after exile, shaping sexual and social norms at his court.
- His taste for continental fashions and entertainments influenced policy and culture, sometimes controversially.
