Charles II of England was a "de facto" republic, led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, and Charles fled to mainland Europe. Cromwell became virtual dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles was invited to return to Britain. On 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim. After 1660, all legal documents
Restoration (Ireland) County Down but was instead given 4,000 acres in Roscommon and Limerick by Charles II in the 1670s. There were exceptions to the rule, as Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim had also received land in Connaught in 1652, but had all his County Antrim estates restored in 1665. Sir Henry O'Neill "of the Fews" and his brother Shane also had their lands confiscated and were given estates in County Mayo. Restoration (Ireland) The Restoration of the monarchy began in 1660. The Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1649–60) resulted from the Wars of the Three Kingdoms but collapsed in