Regnal years of English monarchs Britain), from 1066 to the present day. These are official "de jure" dates, and may or may not coincide with whether a particular king had "de facto" power or not at that time. For example, as the Commonwealth era was suppressed in the official record, the regnal years of Charles II are measured from 30 January 1649 (the day his father Charles I was executed); as a result, when Charles II actually became king, on 29 May 1660, he was already in his 12th regnal year. (For the "de facto" tabulation of English rulers, see any conventional list of English
Restoration (1660) II's dominions. It had, according to the eighteenth-century historian Robert Beverley, Jr., been "the last of all the King's Dominions that submitted to the Usurpation". Virginia had provided sanctuary for Cavaliers fleeing the English republic. Sir William Berkeley, who had previously been governor up until 1652, was elected governor in 1660 by the House of Burgesses and he promptly declared for the King. The Anglican Church was restored as the established church. In 1663 the Province of Carolina was formed as a reward given to some supporters of the Restoration. The province was named after the King's father, Charles I.