The Royal Bedchamber In Restoration England 1660-1680

Dr. Simon Thurley, CBE

When Charles II returned to London in 1660 amongst his first acts was to rebuild the bedchambers in his royal palaces on a French model. It is normally assumed that these were the first French-style bedchambers in England, but both Henrietta Maria and Oliver Cromwell seem to have had French bedchambers before him. What was new about the Restoration royal bedchamber was not so much its form (although there were innovations here) but how it was used. Simon Thurley looks at the primary evidence to show how the Restoration brought a new focus on royal bedrooms in function, architecture and decoration.