Royalist Army in Exile

The Royalist Army in Exile was the army raised by supporters of Charles II between 1656 and 1660 while he was kept from his throne. It mixed Royalist soldiers from his three kingdoms: men from England and Scotland, but mostly Irish Catholics, many of whom had earlier served in the armies of Confederate Ireland. After the French alliance with Cromwell's Commonwealth forced Charles out of Paris, he signed the Treaty of Brussels with Spain and promised to raise troops for its war against France. His brother James, Duke of York, commanded the force in the field, notably at the Battle of the Dunes in 1658, where it was beaten with its Spanish allies. The army served with Spanish field armies until the Treaty of the Pyrenees. After the Restoration its men were dispersed, some to the Tangier garrison and some to an expedition to Portugal.