‘Unpittyed by any’? Royalist widows and the Crown, 1660–70

Abstract

Abstract This article examines petitions for relief submitted by royalist war widows to Charles II during the first decade of the Restoration. While provincial magistrates were reluctant to award pensions to humble female war victims after 1660, the article demonstrates that numerous women were granted welfare by the Crown. The fact that many of these women were officers' widows raises significant questions regarding the impact of military rank and social status on the distribution of military welfare after 1660, as well as the contrasting attitude of the royalist regime towards the officer corps and the rank-and-file.