His return is at first greeted with relief, but he disperses cromwellian austerity, only to fall into excess in the opposite direction. His Court displays a life of pleasure and frivolity greatly touched with the debauchery that gives the Restoration the image of an England corrupted and immoderate. He collects mistresses, has some dubious friendships with notorious rakes such as the duke of Rochester, and encourages the licentiousness that develops in the nobility. He immediately re-establishes the theatre that had been forbidden, and this reflects an implacable image of the King, his entourage and the upheavals that English society begins to experience.
Charles II - Pieer Nason - Historical Portrait Society - London

The reign of Charles II is not easy thanks to his personality, the scars left during the still recent civil war, the external incidents that confuse his situation and the religious questions still at the heart of English preoccupations. Extravagant and little inclined to administrative matters, he fails to maintain straightforward relations with Parliament and he dreams of absolutism in the manner of Louis XIV. The war that resumes with the United Provinces weakens the country; Charles II is then forced to enter an alliance with France, a Catholic country, which causes waves of protest. These reach their height on the succession to the throne of his brother, who is Catholic, and give birth to two political parties, the “Whigs” and the “Tories”, which further stir passions. Besides, in spite of the atmosphere of frivolity now prevailing in London, the terrifying epidemic of plague followed by the Great Fire of 1666 that destroys the city, calm the euphoria and weaken the finances.

	Charles II dies in 1685 having astutely succeeded in maintaining himself on the throne, but England is preparing for major changes. The period of the Restoration, a pendulum swing away from an inopportune republic, allowed national spirits to mature. The “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 is already on the way and will be the real compromise between opposing antagonistic tendencies throughout the 17th century.
Sitting of the English Parliament - Vol. N° 4 of the History of Civilisations