After the upheaval of the Civil War and the austerity of the Commonwealth, England once again enjoyed a period of stability after the Restoration. Charles II was clever enough to rule with his Parliament and wise enough to keep his religious leanings to himself. After his death, his brother James II failed to follow his example, leading to conflict with his nobles, Parliament, the Church and judiciary. Their solution was to replace him with his nephew, William of Orange, who managed to stage an almost bloodless revolution. Henceforth, England’s monarchs would have their powers limited and a constitutional monarchy was born.

Key Facts

Key dates

February 1685 James II succeeds to the throne

June 1685 Monmouth Rebellion

June 1688 James, Prince of Wales born

June 1688 William of Orange invited to take the Crown

November 1688 William of Orange lands in England

December 1688 James II flees to France

February 1689 William and his wife Mary agree to rule as joint sovereigns

Key figures

James II of England and Ireland, and VII of Scotland

William III of Orange, later William III of England – the King’s nephew and son-in-law

Mary II of England – daughter of James II and wife to her cousin William

James Francis Edward Stuart – James’ son and Mary’s half-brother, known as the “Old Pretender”

The Glorious Revolution

James II succeeded his brother Charles II in 1685. Despite being openly Roman Catholic, he was initially welcomed by his predominantly Protestant people who accepted him as the natural successor to the Crown. They were prepared to overlook his religion since his two daughters, Mary and Anne, were staunchly Protestant. The assumption was that Mary would inherit the throne since her middle aged father and his second wife had failed to produce any children in their 12 years of marriage. Mary’s popularity as heir to the throne was bolstered since she was married to her cousin, another Protestant, William of Orange.

The new king’s popularity soon waned. Early in his reign he had put down two rebellions, one led by his nephew the Duke of Monmouth, the other by the Scottish Earl of Argyll. James’ army was able to defeat both rebellions and both leaders, together with many of their supporters, were executed following Judge Jefferys’ “Bloody Assizes”. Despite foiling both revolts, James was sufficiently unsettled to propose a larger standing army. This was a novelty in England, and was treated with suspicion.

James’ plans to strengthen the army were troubling, but his next proposal was even more worrying. He began to directly appoint Catholics as officers in the new army, using his personal power to circumvent the Test Act. The Test Act of 1673 had been introduced precisely because Parliament feared that Catholics might gain positions of influence and power in the government and army. Under the provisions of the Act, all officials were required to swear an oath denouncing the practices of the Catholic Church and take communion with the Church of England. James himself had fallen foul of the Act in his brother’s reign, refusing to conform and instead giving up his position as Lord High Admiral. His actions sparked concern in Parliament and objections were raised. James responded as his father Charles I had done before; he dissolved Parliament.

Once he had dismissed Parliament, James was emboldened to go further. Catholics were appointed in place of Protestants at court and, for the first time in over a century, the Pope’s representative was invited to London. Disquiet started to grow amongst the Protestant majority.

Without Parliament, James sought to rule by himself. In May 1686, he asked the law courts to confirm that it was legal for him to use his personal “dispensing” power without recourse to any Acts of Parliament. When the decision went against him, he sacked the judges.

Starting in 1687, James granted religious freedom to his people in the Declaration of Indulgence. The Declaration applied not only to Catholics, but to Nonconformists too. People were free to worship as they saw fit, whether at home, in a church or chapel, and there were no bars to public office based on religion. This remarkably modern and tolerant document was met with horror by the Anglican clergy. The Declaration was ordered to be read out from the pulpits of Scotland in 1687 and in mid-1688 in England. Six bishops, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, petitioned the King to reconsider his religious policies. He responded by having them arrested.

Matters were reaching a crisis point, but many people were prepared to accept James’ reforms, seeing them as temporary, soon to be swept away when James’ Protestant daughter took the throne. However, barely two months after the arrest of the bishops, the Queen gave birth to a son and new Catholic heir.

Rumours were rife that the child was not royal, but had been smuggled into the Queen’s bedchamber. In fact, there were around 70 witnesses to the birth and England did indeed have a new Prince of Wales, who took precedence over his half-sisters Mary and Anne in the line of succession. The rise of Catholicism in England was threatening to become long-term.

The birth of Prince James might have taken the country by surprise, but a group of seven nobles – the “Immortal Seven” – had had the foresight to make contact with Princess Mary’s husband, William of Orange, as soon as the Queen’s pregnancy was announced. Once the Queen was delivered of a healthy son, they wrote once again to William.

The letter to William was an invitation. The nobles promised that if he landed in England with an army, they would throw their support behind him. Their goal was to have William force James to put aside the infant Prince of Wales, whom they believed to be an imposter, and reinstate Mary as the heir to the throne. William was already making plans to invade but held off, waiting for an assurance of support within England. Once he had it, his plans gathered pace.

William’s ships reached Torbay in November 1688 and William landed at Brixham in Devon. His army was about half the size of James’, but many of his troops were veteran mercenaries, so he believed that he would be able to defeat the inexperienced English. Exeter soon surrendered to him, as did Plymouth. Meanwhile, the nobles in the north declared for him as did the King’s younger daughter Anne.

The King’s forces met William’s at Reading on 9 December where the King lost. Rioting broke out, aimed at Catholics in several cities and towns. Sensing defeat, the King fled with his wife and son, making for France. Sailing up the Thames, he dropped the Great Seal in the river, believing that Parliament could not be summoned without it. The Royal family did not get far. On 11 December they were captured by fishermen and returned to London, where he was greeted by a cheering crowd. Any encouragement James might have felt would have soon disappeared as when William arrived two days later, the fickle London crowd gave him a similarly rapturous reception.

William had been invited to England with the intention of restoring Mary as heir, but it became apparent that he had no intention of allowing James to continue in power. Rather than simply seizing power from the King, William engineered a situation in which James felt himself in mortal danger. William ensured that James’ guard was lax and once more he was able to board a ship for France, slipping away from England on 23 December. This time, no one stopped him. William had achieved an almost bloodless revolution, earning it the sobriquet “Glorious”.

In January 1689, a new Parliament met to decide the future of the monarchy. It was by no means settled that William would assume power, and he himself feared that King James would return. Meanwhile, the MPs were divided, some wanting to make William king, others wanting William and Mary to reign jointly and another group in favour of Mary being made Queen in her own right. Whilst Parliament did declare on 28 January that the throne had been abdicated by James, they stopped short of proclaiming a new monarch. Eventually, Mary declared that she would not rule without her husband, and the matter was settled. However, Parliament made it clear that William and Mary assumed the monarchy by their invitation. In addition, they drew up a Bill of Rights. England and the monarchy had reached a turning point.

The Bill of Rights 1689 bound the monarch to obey the law and call frequent Parliaments. The monarch could neither set up new courts nor act as a judge. There was to be no royal interference in elections and MPs were guaranteed freedom of speech in Parliament. Only Parliament could authorise a standing army and the monarch could not stop people from keeping their own arms for protection. Taxation was within Parliament’s power, not the monarch’s. In addition, the people were free to petition the monarch and were not to suffer any undue punishments. Finally, the Bill of Rights barred Roman Catholics from the throne and required the monarch to swear a coronation oath to uphold the Protestant faith.

The Glorious Revolution ended not just James II’s reign, but a long period in English history during which there had been undercurrents of tension between not only religions, but also the monarch and Parliament. William and Mary’s acceptance of the Bill of Rights made them England’s first constitutional monarchs, a successful model that has stood the test of time.

Legacy

William of Orange’s Glorious Revolution marked a watershed in England’s history. The divine right of Kings was at an end and the King was now controlled by Parliament. The principle of a constitutional monarch was established.

Roman Catholics are still barred from becoming monarch, but in 2013 the bar on a person who marries a Roman Catholic from becoming or remaining monarch was lifted.

The Bill of Rights was used as a model for the US Bill of Rights 1789, as well as other similar documents such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Sites to Visit

There is a statue of William of Orange beside the harbour in Brixham, Devon, to commemorate his landing in the town on 5 November 1689. Leading up from the harbour is a road called “Overgang”, the Dutch for “passage”. This was the path the Dutch used to get from their ships to their camp above.

After their accession, William and Mary decided to set up home at Hampton Court Palace. Early plans to demolish the old Tudor palace were mercifully abandoned and instead Sir Christopher Wren built them a massive Baroque extension.

The Glorious Revolution on Film and TV

England, My England (1995) is a British film about the composer Henry Purcell, who was court composer for Charles II and later William and Mary. A fine cast and naturally top rate score, paint a vivid picture of England in the Restoration and beyond.

David Starkey’s excellent Monarchy covered the Glorious Revolution in Series 3, which is available on DVD.

The First Churchills (1969) is a BBC costume drama about the 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife which includes events of the period of the Glorious Revolution. Available on DVD.

Further Research

Tim Harris covers the event of the Glorious Revolution in his 2007 book Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch 1685-1720

The Last Revolution: 1688 and the Creation of the Modern World (2014) by Patrick Dillon

Rebellion: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution (2014) by Peter Ackroyd

Relevant YouTube Videos