A review by emesskay
The King's Bed: Sex and Power in the Court of Charles II by Michael Walsh, Don Jordan

4.0

Prior to reading this book I didn't know that much about King Charles II - I knew he had been invited back to become king of Britain after Cromwell died. I knew that he liked to party and he had a lot of mistresses. This book has been a fascinating insight into the party/mistress side of his life, in particular, how much sway his mistresses had over the affairs of state. His mistresses were able to ensure that their favorites were appointed to important governmental posts, that their out-of-wedlock children by Charles II were granted titles and income, as well as push the agenda of a foreign monarch.

From this book I definitely got the impression that Charles II was someone who enjoyed the trappings of kingship (nice clothes, estates, mistresses galore, loads of money) without actually enjoying the boring work part of being king.

But what is interesting is that the court of Charles II was so licentious, that it helped push forward a kind of sexual revolution, which extended beyond the court.

Highly recommend this book for folks interested in history, or just the behind the scenes dynamic of royalty.