ABSTRACT
Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester was the youngest son of King Charles I of England, who lost the English Civil War against Parliament and his life in 1649. Initially imprisoned by Parliament, the young Henry was allowed to leave for exile in France in 1652. When the English monarchy was restored in 1660, Henry’s older brother became King Charles II and Henry also returned to England with the title of Duke of Gloucester but died prematurely of smallpox that very same year. Henry was a staunch Protestant, unlike his Catholic older brother James Duke of York, who would eventually succeed Charles II to the throne as James II in 1685. When it became clear that Charles II would not produce a legitimate heir with the Queen and that James Duke of York would likely succeed him, England was shaken by the Exclusion Crisis of 1679–1681 during which attempts were made to exclude the Catholic James from the succession.
