James II and VII
Iacobus II
King of England · King of Scotland (as James VII) · King of Ireland · Duke of York
1633 – 1701
Biography
Acceded peacefully despite his Catholicism, but in three years contrived to alienate the entire political class through his appointment of Catholic officers, suspension of penal laws against Catholics, and prosecution of Anglican bishops. The birth of a Catholic male heir to his second wife Mary of Modena in June 1688 — making a Catholic succession permanent — triggered the invitation to William of Orange that produced the Glorious Revolution. He fled to France in December and lived out his life as a guest of Louis XIV at Saint-Germain.
Events
An invitation from seven English peers brought William of Orange and a Dutch army ashore at Torbay on 5 November 1688. James II, lacking confidence in his own troops and forces, fled to France within weeks. Parliament declared the throne vacant by James's flight and offered it jointly to his daughter Mary and her husband William, on conditions later codified in the Bill of Rights. The settlement fixed parliamentary supremacy as the operating constitution of England.
Also there: Mary of Modena, William III, Mary II
Recommended Reading
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.