A rare historic document signed by Charles II, which sealed the restoration of the monarchy in Britain, is expected to fetch £600,000 at auction, just days ahead of King Charles III’s coronation next month.
The Declaration of Breda, dated 4 April 1660, changed royal power forever and fundamentally helped to shape Britain’s constitution. It outlined the terms on which Charles II would return to Britain and take the throne, two years after the death of Oliver Cromwell. Charles II had been in exile since Cromwell seized power after the execution of his father, Charles I. The declaration, five copies of which were signed by Charles II, ensured the monarchy was restored without further civil war and marked the end of years of revolution.
Described as transformational, it struck a powerful note of reconciliation in the face of “general distraction and confusion which is spread over the whole kingdome”.
The copy up for auction is one of only two known to have survived. It was delivered to Lord Edward Montagu, general at sea, and passed to his secretary, Samuel Pepys, to read to the naval fleet on the flagship boat the Naseby ahead of a vote by naval commanders on whether it should be accepted.
Pepys, who was tasked with winning the navy over to the king, described in his diaries: “No man seemed to say no to it, though I am confident many in their hearts were against it.” On announcing the result of the vote to the seamen, he wrote: “the seamen did all of then cry out ‘God bless King Charles!’ with the greatest joy imaginable”.
Gabriel Heaton, a manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s, which is auctioning the document, said it was “one of the most important documents of its kind ever to appear for public sale”. Heaton described it as “a vital prop in a scene of great historical importance” and said the fact that Pepys read it aloud was “such a fantastical additional detail”.
“It has a direct and immediate impact on British history. The last comparable document at auction would be the copy of the Magna Carta we sold about 15 years ago which made about $20m (£16m), and there are more copies of that than of the Declaration of Breda,” Heaton said.
“Also, it is so beautifully written and evocative. And the message that it gives is a message of peace and reconciliation. That is overwhelmingly what the declaration is about.”
The other surviving copy of the document is held in parliament’s archives.
Sotheby’s London will offer the document – which remained with Montagu’s family until the 1980s when it was first auctioned – with an estimated price of £400,000 to £600,000. The declaration will be the star lot of Sotheby’s “Coronation Sale” online auction, which closes on 4 May, ahead of King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May.
After years in exile, plotting a series of failed conspiracies and insurrections, the Declaration of Breda marked Charles II’s opportunity to take the throne. He returned to London in 1660, where he would rule for the next 25 years.
On his journey back to Britain, he first moved from Catholic Brussels to Breda in the Protestant Netherlands, “which was all about the optics”, said Heaton. From there, he issued the proclamation, which granted general pardon to many former republicans, permitted religious tolerance, recognised property rights, and agreed to settle arrears in army pay. As a result, parliament proclaimed Charles II king Charles on 8 May, on the same day the declaration appeared in print.
The Naseby, which was named after the village in Northampshire where Charles I’s forces suffered a decisive defeat in 1645, then set sail for the Netherlands to bring back the king. But not before the ship’s figurehead of Oliver Cromwell was removed, and it was swiftly renamed HMS Royal Charles. Charles II returned to Britain on 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, entering London uncontested.
