the murdered king’s son be allowed to take the throne as
the new monarch.
When Charles II arrived at Dover on 25 May
1660, Monck was there to welcome him. Allegedly,
when Charles came ashore, he knelt before Monck and
called him “father.” In this period, called the Restoration,
Monck was styled as the duke of Albemarle and named
as captain-general of the army. Although he played a
minor role in the fighting in the Second Anglo-Dutch
War (1665–67), his career was over, and he never entered
the political realm. George Monck died in London on
3 January 1670 and was buried with great ceremony in
Westminster Abbey. His Observations upon Military and
Political Affairs, which he wrote while a prisoner in the
Tower of London, was published posthumously in 1671.
References: Warner, Oliver, Hero of the Restoration: A
Life of General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, K.G.
(London: Jarrolds Publishers, Ltd., 1936); Charnock,
John, “Albemarle, George Monk, Duke of,” in Biographia
Navalis; or, Impartial Memoirs of the Lives and Charac-
ters of Officers of the Navy of Great Britain, From the Year
1660 to the Present Time;... , 4 vols. (London: Printed
for R. Faulder, Bond-Street, 1794–98), I:189–214; Lloyd,
David, Modern Policy Compleated, or, The Publick Actions
and Councels both Civill and Military of His Excellency
the Lord Generall Monck: Under the Generall Revolutions
since 1639, to 1660 (London: Printed by J.B. for Henry
Marsh, 1660); Powell, the Rev. J. R., and E. K. Timings,
The Rupert and Monck Letter Book 1666, Together With
Supporting Documents (London: Printed for the Navy Re-
cords Society, 1969); “A Letter from General Monck from
Dalkeith, 13 October 1659. Directed as Followeth. For
the Right Honorable William Lenthal, Esquire, Speaker;
to be communicated to the Parliament of the Common-
wealth of England, at Westminster” (London, 1659); “A
Letter from the Lord General Monck and The Officers
Here, to the Several and Respective Regiments and Other
Forces in England, Scotland, and Ireland” (London:
Printed by John Macock, 1660).
Monmouth, James Scott, duke of (James
Walter, James Crofts) (1649–1685)
claimant to the English throne
James Scott was born in Rotterdam on 9 April 1649 as
James Walter, the son of Charles II and his mistress Lucy
Walter. After James’s birth, his mother returned to En-
gland, but, upon a warrant sworn out by Lord Protec-
tor Oliver cromWell, she was arrested and sent to the
Tower of London; however, she was soon released and
returned to the Netherlands. When she died in 1658,
James became the ward of William, Lord Crofts, whose
name he took for a time. When Charles was restored
to the throne in 1660, he commanded that James, his
favorite son, be brought to his royal court. In 1663,
James was styled first as duke of Orkney and duke of
Monmouth and then was made a Knight of the Garter
at Windsor Castle. Upon his marriage to Anne Scott,
countess of Buccleuch, he took the name Scott.
As Charles II and his wife, Queen Catherine, did
not have any children, it appeared likely that he would
name his son James Scott as his heir. Charles’s brother,
also named James, was not well-liked and was a Roman
Catholic, in conflict with most of England. (Because
of his father’s Protestant religion, Monmouth had been
brought up in that faith under the tutelage of Thomas
Ross, one of Charles II’s close friends.) Therefore a ri-
valry between the duke of Monmouth and his uncle, the
duke of York, took on extreme proportions. During this
period, Monmouth served in a series of appointments,
including captain of the Life Guards from 1668 and
member of the English Privy Council from 1670. Dur-
ing the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–67), he served
as head of the English armed forces on the European
continent, and in April 1674 he succeeded the duke of
Buckingham as master of the horse. As captain general
of the English army, he led English forces into battle
against Scottish troops and won an important victory at
Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679.
Despite Monmouth’s accomplishments, Charles
came under increasing pressure not to name his illegiti-
mate son as his successor. On 3 March 1679, he publicly
announced that he and Scott’s mother had never been
married, and he overruled three separate Parliamentary
bills to exclude the Catholic James, duke of York, from
succeeding to the throne. Angered at this action, Mon-
mouth took part in a conspiracy called the Rye House
Plot (1683), an attempt on Charles II’s life; when the
plot was uncovered, he fled to the Netherlands.
Upon the death of Charles II on 6 February 1685,
Monmouth’s illegitimacy barred him from succeeding,
and Charles’s brother became James II. According to his-
torian David Hilliam, “Charles’ eldest and favorite bas-
tard, the Duke of Monmouth... made a bid to seize the
throne by force. His only claim to the throne was that he monmouth, JAmeS Scott, Duke oF