143-648: Act of Settlement most commonly refers to the Act of Settlement 1701 , an Act of the Parliament of England. Act of Settlement or Settlement Act may also refer to: Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3 . c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants , which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became
286-498: A denizen (unless born of English parents), can be a Privy Councillor or a member of either House of Parliament, or hold "any Office or Place of Trust, either Civill [ sic ] or Military, or to [ sic ] have any Grant of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments from the Crown, to himself or to any other or others in Trust for him". Subsequent nationality laws (today primarily
429-510: A " Popish Plot " to kill Charles and to put the Duke of York on the throne. The fabricated plot caused a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria to sweep across the nation. In England, the Earl of Shaftesbury , a former government minister and now a leading opponent of Catholicism, proposed an Exclusion Bill that would have excluded James from the line of succession. Some members of Parliament even proposed to pass
572-568: A Canadian civic politician, took issue with the provisions that exclude Roman Catholics from the throne, and which make the monarch of Canada the Supreme Governor of the Church of England , requiring him or her to be an Anglican . This, he claimed, discriminated against non-Anglicans, including Catholics, who are the largest faith group in Canada. In 2002, O'Donohue launched a court action that argued
715-660: A Roman Catholic Canadian. (In fact, Lord St Andrews had already lost his place in the line of succession when he married the Roman Catholic Canadian Sylvana Palma Tomaselli in 1988. But St Andrews' place in the line of succession was significantly lower than Phillips'.) Criticism of the Act of Settlement due to the Phillips–Kelly marriage was muted when Autumn Kelly converted to Anglicanism shortly before her marriage, thus preserving her husband's place in
858-521: A Roman Catholic and a Canadian, discussion about the Act of Settlement was revived. Norman Spector called in The Globe and Mail for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to address the issue of the Act's bar on Catholics, saying Phillips' marriage to Kelly would be the first time the provisions of the Act would bear directly on Canada—Phillips would be barred from acceding to the Canadian throne because he married
1001-545: A Roman Catholic crown would be the destruction of the Church of England because "it would contradict the essential character of that church." He continued: When Thomas Hobbes wrote that "the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire sitting crowned upon the grave thereof", he was promulgating an enormously important truth. Authority in the Roman Church is the exertion of that imperium from which England in
1144-570: A Roman Catholic monarch would be unable to be crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury and notes that other European states have similar religious provisions for their monarchs: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, whose constitutions compel their monarchs to be Lutherans ; the Netherlands, which has a constitution requiring its monarchs be members of the Protestant House of Orange ; and Belgium, which has
1287-582: A Roman Catholic, or who married one, became disqualified to inherit the throne. This had the effect of deposing the remaining descendants of Charles I , other than his Protestant granddaughter Anne , as the next Protestant in line to the throne was Sophia of Hanover . Born into the House of Wittelsbach , she was a granddaughter of James VI and I from his most junior surviving line, with the crowns descending only to her non- Catholic heirs. Sophia died less than two months before Queen Anne, and Sophia's son succeeded to
1430-725: A Roman Catholic. With the assistance of French troops, James landed in Ireland in March 1689. The Irish Parliament did not follow the example of the English Parliament; it declared that James remained King and passed a massive bill of attainder against those who had rebelled against him. At James's urging, the Irish Parliament passed an Act for Liberty of Conscience that granted religious freedom to all Roman Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. James worked to build an army in Ireland, but
1573-496: A brief Anglican service that did little more than recognise the marriage by proxy. Many British people, distrustful of Catholicism, regarded the new Duchess of York as an agent of the Papacy . James was noted for his deep devotion, once remarking, "If occasion were, I hope God would give me his grace to suffer death for the true Catholic religion as well as banishment." In 1677, King Charles II arranged for James's daughter Mary to marry
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#17328477569551716-634: A captured Irish regiment in December 1652, then appointed Lieutenant-General in 1654. In 1657, France, then engaged in the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) , agreed an alliance with the Commonwealth of England , and when Charles responded by signing a treaty with Spain , James was expelled from France. James quarrelled with his brother over this choice, but ultimately joined Spanish forces in Flanders led by
1859-462: A century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown. James succeeded to the throne with widespread support, largely due to a reluctance to undermine the principle of hereditary succession, and the belief that a Catholic monarchy was purely temporary. However, tolerance of his personal views did not extend to Catholicism in general, and both
2002-620: A constitution that provides for the succession to be through Roman Catholic houses. In December 2004, a private member's bill—the Succession to the Crown Bill —was introduced in the House of Lords. The government, headed by Tony Blair , blocked all attempts to revise the succession laws, claiming it would raise too many constitutional issues and it was unnecessary at the time. In the British general election
2145-465: A father, and played with them "like an ordinary private father of a child", a contrast to the distant parenting common with royalty at the time. James's wife was devoted to him and influenced many of his decisions. Even so, he kept mistresses, including Arabella Churchill and Catherine Sedley , and was reputed to be "the most unguarded ogler of his time". Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that James "did eye my wife mightily". James's taste in women
2288-493: A few months after the Act received royal assent, and his Roman Catholic children, Prince James ( The Old Pretender ) and the Princess Royal , the Act also excluded the descendants of Princess Henrietta , the youngest sister of James II. Henrietta's daughter was Anne , Queen of Sardinia, a Roman Catholic, from whom descend all Jacobite pretenders after 1807. With the legitimate descendants of Charles I either childless (in
2431-579: A funeral oration by Henri-Emmanuel de Roquette . James was not buried, but put in one of the side chapels. Lights were kept burning round his coffin until the French Revolution . In 1734, the Archbishop of Paris heard evidence to support James's canonisation, but nothing came of it. During the French Revolution, James's tomb was raided. James's younger daughter Anne succeeded when William died in 1702. The Act of Settlement provided that, if
2574-526: A granddaughter of James VI and I and a niece of King Charles I – and her descendants, but it excluded "for ever" "all and every Person and Persons who ... is are or shall be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or shall profess the Popish Religion or shall marry a Papist". Thus, those who were Roman Catholics, and those who married Roman Catholics, were barred from ascending
2717-517: A middle ground between these views. James, second surviving son of King Charles I and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France , was born at St James's Palace in London on 14 October 1633. Later that same year, he was baptized by William Laud , the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury . He was educated by private tutors, along with his older brother, the future King Charles II , and the two sons of
2860-508: A monarch since 1603, they had remained separately governed countries, with the Act catalysing the Union of England and Scotland . However, the Parliament of Scotland was more reluctant to abandon the House of Stuart, members of which had been Scottish monarchs long before they became English. Moreover, the Act also placed limits on both the role of foreigners in the British government and the power of
3003-605: A motion in 1999 calling for the complete removal of any discrimination linked to the monarchy and the repeal of the Act of Settlement. The following year, The Guardian challenged the succession law in court, claiming that it violated the European Convention on Human Rights , which provides, The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with
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#17328477569553146-507: A national minority, property, birth, or other status. As the Convention nowhere lists the right to succeed to the Crown as a human right, the challenge was rejected. Adrian Hilton , writing in The Spectator in 2003, defended the Act of Settlement as not "irrational prejudice or blind bigotry", but claimed that it was passed because "the nation had learnt that when a Roman Catholic monarch
3289-501: A palace and a pension. William summoned a Convention Parliament to decide how to handle James's flight. It convened on 22 January 1689. While the Parliament refused to depose him, they declared that James, having fled to France and dropped the Great Seal into the Thames, had effectively abdicated , and that the throne had thereby become vacant. To fill this vacancy, James's daughter Mary
3432-414: A pension from the Crown, was to be a Member of Parliament. This provision was inserted to avoid unwelcome royal influence over the House of Commons. It remains in force, but with several exceptions; ministers of the Crown were exempted early on before Anne's death in order to continue some degree of royal patronage, but had to stand for a by-election to re-enter the House upon such appointment until 1926. As
3575-788: A side effect, this provision means that members of the Commons seeking to resign from parliament can get around the prohibition on resignation by obtaining a sinecure in the control of the Crown; while several offices have historically been used for this purpose, two are currently in use: appointments generally alternate between the stewardships of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead . Seventh, judges' commissions are valid quamdiu se bene gesserint (during good behaviour) and if they do not behave themselves, they can be removed only by both Houses of Parliament (or in other Commonwealth realms
3718-806: A simultaneous rising in Scotland , in April a Scottish Convention followed England in ruling that James had "forfeited" the throne, which was offered to William and Mary. After his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, James returned to France, where he spent the rest of his life in exile at Saint-Germain , protected by Louis XIV . While contemporary opponents often portrayed him as an absolutist tyrant, some 20th-century historians have praised James for advocating religious tolerance, although more recent scholarship has tended to take
3861-610: A sizable court household. In 1664, Charles II granted American territory between the Delaware and Connecticut rivers to James. Following its capture by the British, the former Dutch territory of New Netherland and its principal port, New Amsterdam , were renamed the Province and City of New York in James's honour. James gave part of the colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . Fort Orange , 150 miles (240 km) north on
4004-524: A temporary phenomenon, but when the prince's birth opened the possibility of a permanent Roman Catholic dynasty, such men had to reconsider their position. Threatened by a Roman Catholic dynasty, several influential Protestants claimed the child was supposititious and had been smuggled into the Queen's bedchamber in a warming pan. They had already entered into negotiations with the Prince of Orange when it became known
4147-467: A wave of sympathy for the King and James. Several notable Whigs , including the Earl of Essex and the Duke of Monmouth, were implicated. Monmouth initially confessed to complicity in the plot and implicated fellow conspirators, but later recanted. Essex committed suicide, and Monmouth, along with several others, was obliged to flee into exile in continental Europe. Charles II reacted to the plot by increasing
4290-611: A wholesale purge of those in offices under the Crown opposed to his plan, appointing new lord-lieutenants of counties and remodelling the corporations governing towns and livery companies . In October, James gave orders for the lord-lieutenants to provide three standard questions to all Justices of the Peace : 1. Would they consent to the repeal of the Test Act and the Penal Laws? 2. Would they assist candidates who would do so? 3. Would they accept
4433-684: A year to markets primarily in the English Caribbean across the Atlantic. Many were branded on the chest with the letters "DY" for "Duke of York", the RAC's Governor. As historian William Pettigrew writes, the RAC "shipped more enslaved African women, men, and children to the Americas than any other single institution during the entire period of the transatlantic slave trade". James's time in France had exposed him to
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4576-477: Is a complex process, since the act governs the shared succession of all the Commonwealth realms . The Statute of Westminster 1931 acknowledges by established convention that any changes to the rules of succession may be made only with the agreement of all of the states involved, with concurrent amendments to be made by each state's parliament or parliaments. Further, as the current monarch's eldest child and, in turn, his eldest child, are Anglican males, any change to
4719-596: Is now Lower Saxony (Germany), then part of the Holy Roman Empire . This provision has been dormant since Queen Victoria ascended the throne, because she did not inherit Hanover under the Salic Laws of the German-speaking states. Third, no monarch may leave "the dominions of England , Scotland , or Ireland ", without the consent of Parliament. This provision was repealed in 1716, at the request of George I who
4862-446: Is upon the throne, religious and civil liberty is lost." He points to the Pope's claiming universal jurisdiction, and Hilton argues that "it would be intolerable to have, as the sovereign of a Protestant and free country, one who owes any allegiance to the head of any other state" and contends that, if such situation came about, "we will have undone centuries of common law." He said that because
5005-457: The Act of Union 1707 . This success was in marked contrast to the four attempts at political union between 1606 and 1689, which all failed owing to a lack of political will in both kingdoms. By virtue of Article II of the Treaty of Union , which defined the succession to the throne of Great Britain, the Act of Settlement became part of Scots law as well. In addition to excluding James II , who died
5148-423: The Archbishop of Canterbury , submitted a petition requesting the reconsideration of the King's religious policies, they were arrested and tried for seditious libel . Public alarm increased when Queen Mary gave birth to a Roman Catholic son and heir, James Francis Edward , on 10 June that year. When James's only possible successors were his two Protestant daughters, Anglicans could see his pro-Catholic policies as
5291-545: The British Nationality Act 1981 ) made naturalised citizens the equal of those native born, and excluded Commonwealth citizens from the definition of foreigners, and citizens of the Irish Republic from the definition of aliens, but otherwise this provision still applies. It has however been disapplied in particular cases by a number of other statutes. Sixth, no person who has an office under the monarch, or receives
5434-740: The Duke of Buckingham , George and Francis Villiers. At the age of three, James was appointed Lord High Admiral ; the position was initially honorary, but became a substantive office after the Restoration , when James was an adult. He was designated Duke of York at birth, invested with the Order of the Garter in 1642, and formally created Duke of York in January 1644. In August 1642, long running political disputes between Charles I and his opponents in Parliament led to
5577-480: The Earl of Melfort ; most, but not all, were Roman Catholic. In 1692, James's last child, Louisa Maria Teresa , was born. Some supporters in England attempted to assassinate William III to restore James to the throne in 1696, but the plot failed and the backlash made James's cause less popular. In the same year, Louis XIV offered to have James elected King of Poland . James rejected the offer, fearing that accepting
5720-418: The Earl of Scarsdale and three others. While many shared their opposition to a "foreign" king, the general feeling was summed up as "better a German prince than a French one". Monarch : Charles III For different reasons, various constitutionalists have praised the Act of Settlement: Henry Hallam called the Act "the seal of our constitutional laws" and David Lindsay Keir placed its importance above
5863-708: The First English Civil War . James and his brother Charles were present at the Battle of Edgehill in October, and narrowly escaped capture by Parliamentarian cavalry. He spent most of the next four years in the Royalist wartime capital of Oxford , where he was made a Master of Arts by the University on 1 November 1642 and served as colonel of a volunteer regiment of foot. Following the surrender of Oxford in June 1646, James
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6006-676: The Hudson River , was renamed Albany after James's Scottish title. In 1683, James became the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company , but did not take an active role in its governance. In September 1666, Charles II put James in charge of firefighting operations during the Great Fire of London , in the absence of action by Lord Mayor Thomas Bloodworth . This was not a political office, but his actions and leadership were noteworthy. "The Duke of York hath won
6149-588: The Tories were those who opposed it. Ultimately, the succession was not altered, but James was convinced to withdraw from all policy-making bodies and to accept a lesser role in his brother's government. On the orders of the King, James left England for Brussels . In 1680, he was appointed Lord High Commissioner of Scotland and took up residence at the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh to suppress an uprising and oversee
6292-821: The slave trade (indeed English attacks on such forts occupied by the Dutch precipitated the war itself). James remained Admiral of the Fleet during the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1674), during which significant fighting also occurred off the African coast. Following the raid on the Medway in 1667, James oversaw the survey and re-fortification of the southern coast. The office of Lord High Admiral, combined with his revenue from post office and wine tariffs (positions granted him by Charles II upon his restoration), gave James enough money to keep
6435-406: The 16th century finally and decisively declared its national independence as the alter imperium , the "other empire", of which Henry VIII declared "This realm of England is an empire" ... It would signal the beginning of the end of the British monarchy. It would portend the eventual surrender of everything that has made us, and keeps us still, a nation. The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed
6578-401: The Act of Settlement violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , but, the case was dismissed by the court. It found that, as the Act of Settlement is part of the Canadian constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as another part of the same constitution, does not have supremacy over it. Also, the court noted that, while Canada has the power to amend the line of succession to
6721-407: The Act of Settlement was received into the laws of all the countries and territories over which the British monarch reigned. It remains part of the laws of the 15 Commonwealth realms and the relevant jurisdictions within those realms. In accordance with established convention, the Statute of Westminster 1931 and later laws, the Act of Settlement (along with the other laws governing the succession of
6864-512: The Act of Settlement, and, in response, passed the Act of Security in 1704, through which Scotland reserved the right to choose its own successor to Queen Anne . Stemming from this, the Parliament of England decided that, to ensure the stability and future prosperity of Great Britain, full union of the two parliaments and nations was essential before Anne's death. It used a combination of exclusionary legislation (the Alien Act 1705 ), politics, and bribery to achieve this within three years under
7007-451: The Bill of Rights of 1689. Naamani Tarkow wrote: "If one is to make sweeping statements, one may say that, save Magna Carta (more truly, its implications), the Act of Settlement is probably the most significant statute in English history". The Act of Settlement was, in many ways, the major cause of the union of Scotland with England and Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Parliament of Scotland had not been consulted about
7150-420: The British throne". Ashdown claimed the Prince said: "I really can't think why we can't have Catholics on the throne". In 1998, during debate on a Succession to the Crown Bill , Junior Home Office Minister Lord Williams of Mostyn informed the House of Lords that the Queen had "no objection to the Government's view that in determining the line of succession to the throne, daughters and sons should be treated in
7293-467: The Canadian throne, the Statute of Westminster stipulates that the agreement of the governments of the fifteen other Commonwealth realms that share the Crown would first have to be sought if Canada wished to continue its relationship with these countries. An appeal of the decision was dismissed on 16 March 2005. Some commentators state that, as a result of this, any single provincial legislature could hinder any attempts to change this Act, and by extension, to
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#17328477569557436-436: The Commons in Parliament". This meant in effect that no pardon by the monarch was to save someone from being impeached by the House of Commons. The Tory administration that replaced the Whig Junto in 1699 took responsibility for steering the Act through Parliament. As a result, it passed with little opposition, although five peers voted against it in the House of Lords, including the Earl of Huntingdon , his brother-in-law
7579-399: The Commonwealth realms) may only be changed with the agreement of all the realms (and, in some federal realms, the constituent members of those federations). The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 changed many provisions of this Act. Challenges have been made against the Act of Settlement, especially its provisions regarding Roman Catholics and preference for males . However, changing the act
7722-559: The Declaration of Indulgence? During the first three months of 1688, hundreds of those who gave negative replies to those questions were dismissed. Corporations were purged by agents, known as the Regulators, who were given wide discretionary powers, in an attempt to create a permanent royal electoral machine. Most of the regulators were Baptists , and the new town officials that they recommended included Quakers , Baptists, Congregationalists , Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, as well as Anglicans . Finally, on 24 August 1688, James ordered
7865-407: The Elector of Hanover and Anne's second cousin. James's son James Francis Edward was recognised as king at his father's death by Louis XIV of France and James II's remaining supporters (later known as Jacobites ) as "James III and VIII". He led a rising in Scotland in 1715 shortly after George I's accession, but was defeated. His son Charles Edward Stuart led a Jacobite rising in 1745 , but
8008-458: The Electress Sophia who had been ineligible to succeed on this ground is George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews , the elder son of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , who married the Roman Catholic Sylvana Palma Tomaselli in 1988. His son, Lord Downpatrick , converted to Roman Catholicism in 2003 and is the most senior descendant of Sophia to be barred as a result of his religion. In 2008 his daughter, Lady Marina Windsor , also converted to Catholicism and
8151-450: The English Parliament to introduce a new Test Act in 1673. Under this Act, all civil and military officials were required to take an oath (in which they were required to disavow the doctrine of transubstantiation and denounce certain practices of the Roman Church as superstitious and idolatrous) and to receive the Eucharist under the auspices of the Church of England . James refused to perform either action, instead choosing to relinquish
8294-466: The English and Scottish parliaments refused to pass measures viewed as undermining the primacy of the Protestant religion. His attempts to impose them by decree met with opposition, and as a result, it has been argued it was a political principle, rather than a religious one, that ultimately led to his removal. In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis. Firstly, the birth of James's son and heir James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June raised
8437-523: The English political class invited William to assume the English throne. When William landed in Brixham on 5 November 1688, James's army deserted and he went into exile in France on 23 December. In February 1689, a special Convention Parliament held James had "vacated" the English throne and installed William and Mary as joint monarchs, thereby establishing the principle sovereignty derived from Parliament, not birth. James landed in Ireland on 14 March 1689 in an attempt to recover his kingdoms, but, despite
8580-595: The English throne was governed by the Bill of Rights 1689 , which declared that the flight of James II from England to France during the revolution amounted to an abdication of the throne and that James's daughter Mary II and her husband/cousin, William III (William of Orange, who was also James's nephew), were James's successors. The Bill of Rights also provided that the line of succession would go through Mary's Protestant descendants by William and any possible future husband should she outlive him, then through Mary's sister Anne and her Protestant descendants, and then to
8723-443: The Established Church, the traditional ally of the monarchy, in the difficult position of being forced to erode its own privileges. James provoked further opposition by attempting to reduce the Anglican monopoly on education. At the University of Oxford , he offended Anglicans by allowing Roman Catholics to hold important positions in Christ Church and University College , two of Oxford's largest colleges. He also attempted to force
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#17328477569558866-516: The Fellows of Magdalen College to elect as their President Anthony Farmer , a man of generally ill repute who was believed to be a Roman Catholic, which was seen as a violation of the Fellows' right to elect someone of their own choosing. In 1687, James prepared to pack Parliament with his supporters, so that it would repeal the Test Act and the Penal Laws. James was convinced by addresses from Dissenters that he had their support and so could dispense with relying on Tories and Anglicans. He instituted
9009-441: The French exile Condé . Given command of six regiments of British volunteers, he fought against his former French comrades at the Battle of the Dunes . After France and Spain made peace with the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees , James considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy, but declined the position. Soon after, the 1660 Stuart Restoration returned his brother to the English throne as Charles II. After
9152-422: The Governor of the Royal Adventurers into Africa (later shortened to the Royal African Company ) in October 1660, an office James retained until after the Glorious Revolution when he was forced to resign. When James commanded the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) he immediately directed the fleet towards the capture of forts off the African coast that would facilitate English involvement in
9295-443: The North Sea to The Hague . Following their victory in the 1648 Second English Civil War , Parliament ordered the execution of Charles I in January 1649. The Covenanter regime proclaimed Charles II King of Scotland, and after lengthy negotiations agreed to provide troops to restore him to the English throne. The invasion ended in defeat at Worcester in September 1651. Although Charles managed to escape capture and to return to
9438-420: The Polish crown might (in the minds of the English people) disqualify him from being King of England. After Louis concluded peace with William in 1697, he ceased to offer much assistance to James. During his last years, James lived as an austere penitent . He wrote a memorandum for his son advising him on how to govern England, specifying that Catholics should possess one Secretary of State, one Commissioner of
9581-434: The Prince of Orange, had neglected to detain them or put a stop to their recruitment efforts. Argyll sailed to Scotland where he raised recruits, mainly from his own clan, the Campbells . The rebellion was quickly crushed, and Argyll was captured at Inchinnan on 18 June 1685. Having arrived with fewer than 300 men and unable to convince many more to flock to his standard, he never posed a credible threat to James. Argyll
9724-423: The Protestant Prince William III of Orange , son of Charles's and James's sister Mary . James reluctantly acquiesced after his brother and nephew had agreed to the marriage. Despite the Protestant marriage, fears of a potential Catholic monarch persisted, intensified by the failure of Charles II and his wife, Catherine of Braganza , to produce any children. A defrocked Anglican clergyman, Titus Oates , spoke of
9867-461: The Protestant descendants of William III by a possible later marriage should he outlive Mary. During the debate, the House of Lords had attempted to append Sophia and her descendants to the line of succession, but the amendment failed in the Commons. Mary II died childless in 1694, after which William III did not remarry. In 1700, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester , who was Anne's only child to survive infancy, died of what may have been smallpox at
10010-534: The Queen shall extend to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom." Anne Twomey reviews three possible interpretations of the clause. However, Twomey expresses confidence that, if the High Court of Australia were to be faced with the problems of covering clause 2, it would find some way to conclude that, with regard to Australia, the clause is subject solely to Australian law. Canadian scholar Richard Toporoski theorised in 1998 that "if, let us say, an alteration were to be made in
10153-635: The Queen was pregnant, and the birth of a son reinforced their convictions. On 30 June 1688, a group of seven Protestant nobles invited William, Prince of Orange , to come to England with an army. By September, it had become clear that William sought to invade. Believing that his own army would be adequate, James refused the assistance of King Louis XIV of France, fearing that the English would oppose French intervention. When William arrived on 5 November 1688, many Protestant officers, including Churchill , defected and joined William, as did James's own daughter Anne . James lost his nerve and declined to attack
10296-538: The Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the Church of England as an apostolic church , a Roman Catholic monarch who abided by their faith's doctrine would be obliged to view Anglican and Church of Scotland archbishops, bishops, and clergy as part of the laity and therefore "lacking the ordained authority to preach and celebrate the sacraments." (Hilton noted that the Church of Scotland's Presbyterian polity does not include bishops or archbishops.) Hilton said
10439-607: The Royal Family (that is, with the style of Royal Highness ) has converted to Roman Catholicism since the passage of the Act: the Duchess of Kent , wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , who converted on 14 January 1994, but her husband did not lose his place in the succession because she was an Anglican at the time of their marriage. As well as being part of the law of the United Kingdom,
10582-576: The Solicitor General, Heneage Finch . The case of Godden v Hales affirmed his dispensing power, with eleven out of the twelve judges ruling in the king's favour after six judges were dismissed for refusing to promise to support the king. In 1687, James issued the Declaration of Indulgence , also known as the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, in which he used his dispensing power to negate
10725-613: The Treasury, the Secretary at War, with the majority of the officers in the army. James died aged 67 of a brain haemorrhage on 16 September 1701 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye . James's heart was placed in a silver-gilt locket and given to the convent at Chaillot , and his brain was placed in a lead casket and given to the Scots College in Paris. His entrails were placed in two gilt urns and sent to
10868-526: The United Kingdom to the Act of Settlement 1701, providing for the succession of the Crown... [i]t is my opinion that the domestic constitutional law of Australia or Papua New Guinea, for example, would provide for the succession in those countries of the same person who became Sovereign of the United Kingdom." In practice, when legislating for the Perth Agreement (see below), the Australian governments took
11011-542: The act's passing the most senior living member of the royal family to have married a Roman Catholic, and thereby to have been removed from the line of succession, is Prince Michael of Kent , who married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in 1978; he was fifteenth in the line of succession at the time. He was restored to the line of succession in 2015 when the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 came into force, and became 34th in line. The next most senior living descendant of
11154-428: The age of 11. Thus, Anne was left as the only person in line to the throne. The Bill of Rights excluded Catholics from the throne, which ruled out James II and his children (as well as their descendants) sired after he converted to Catholicism in 1668. However, it did not provide for the further succession after Anne. Parliament thus saw the need to settle the succession on Sophia and her descendants, and thereby guarantee
11297-537: The approach of the states requesting, and referring power to, the federal government to enact the legislation on behalf of the states (under paragraph 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution) and the Commonwealth of Australia. [REDACTED] Canada portal In Canada, where the Act of Settlement ( French : Acte d'établissement ) is now a part of Canadian constitutional law , Tony O'Donohue ,
11440-533: The beginning of 1686, two papers were found in Charles II's strong box and his closet, in his own hand, stating the arguments for Catholicism over Protestantism. James published these papers with a declaration signed by his sign manual and challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury and the whole Anglican episcopal bench to refute Charles's arguments: "Let me have a solid answer, and in a gentlemanlike style; and it may have
11583-551: The beliefs and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church, and both he and his wife Anne became drawn to that faith. James took Catholic Eucharist in 1668 or 1669, although his conversion was kept secret for almost a decade as he continued to attend Anglican services until 1676. In spite of his conversion, James continued to associate primarily with Anglicans, including John Churchill and George Legge , as well as French Protestants such as Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham . Growing fears of Roman Catholic influence at court led
11726-469: The case of his two grand-daughters the late Queen Mary II and her successor Queen Anne ) or Roman Catholic, Parliament's choice was limited to Sophia of Hanover, the Protestant daughter of the late Elizabeth of Bohemia , the only other child of King James I to have survived childhood. Elizabeth had borne nine children who reached adulthood, of whom Sophia was the youngest daughter. However in 1701 Sophia
11869-546: The collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660, Charles II was restored to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland. Although James was the heir presumptive , it seemed unlikely that he would inherit the Crown, as Charles was still a young man capable of fathering children. On 31 December 1660, following his brother's restoration, James was created Duke of Albany in Scotland, to go along with his English title, Duke of York. Upon his return to England, James prompted an immediate controversy by announcing his engagement to Anne Hyde ,
12012-559: The confidence of many of his Anglican supporters. Sunderland's purge of office-holders even extended to the King's brothers-in-law (the Hydes) and their supporters. Roman Catholics made up no more than one-fiftieth of the English population. In May 1686, James sought to obtain a ruling from the English common-law courts that showed he had the power to dispense with Acts of Parliament. He dismissed judges who disagreed with him on this matter, as well as
12155-520: The consent of all the other realms, as it touches on the succession to the shared crown . On 26 March 2015, following the Perth Agreement , legislation amending the Act came into effect across the Commonwealth realms that removed the disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic and instituted absolute primogeniture . Following the Glorious Revolution , the line of succession to
12298-473: The continuity of the Crown in the Protestant line. With religion and lineage initially decided, the ascendancy of William of Orange in 1689 would also bring his partiality to his Dutch favourites that followed. By 1701, anti-Dutch sentiment was widespread in England and action was considered necessary. The Act of Settlement provided that the throne would pass to the Electress Sophia of Hanover –
12441-402: The couple married secretly, then went through an official marriage ceremony on 3 September 1660 in London. The couple's first child, Charles , was born less than two months later, but died in infancy, as did five further children. Only two daughters survived: Mary (born 30 April 1662) and Anne (born 6 February 1665). Samuel Pepys wrote that James was fond of his children and his role as
12584-554: The crown to Charles's illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth . In 1679, with the Exclusion Bill in danger of passing, Charles II dissolved Parliament. Two further Parliaments were elected in 1680 and 1681, but were dissolved for the same reason. The Exclusion Crisis contributed to the development of the English two-party system: the Whigs were those who supported the Bill, while
12727-413: The daughter of Charles's chief minister, Edward Hyde . In 1659, while trying to seduce her, James promised he would marry Anne. Anne became pregnant in 1660, but following the Restoration and James's return to power, no one at the royal court expected a prince to marry a commoner , no matter what he had pledged beforehand. Although nearly everyone, including Anne's father, urged the two not to marry,
12870-533: The effect of laws punishing both Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters . In the summer of 1687 he attempted to increase support for his tolerationist policy by a speaking tour of the western counties of England. As part of this tour, he gave a speech at Chester in which he said, "suppose... there should be a law made that all black men should be imprisoned, it would be unreasonable and we had as little reason to quarrel with other men for being of different [religious] opinions as for being of different complexions." At
13013-565: The effect which you so much desire of bringing me over to your church." The Archbishop refused on the grounds of respect for the late king. James advocated repeal of the penal laws in all three of his kingdoms, but in the early years of his reign he refused to allow those dissenters who did not petition for relief to receive it. James sent a letter to the Scottish Parliament at its opening in 1685, declaring his wish for new penal laws against refractory Presbyterians and lamented that he
13156-407: The eighteenth century is essentially Jacobite poetry", and both Ó Buachalla and fellow-historian Éamonn Ó Ciardha argue that James and his successors played a central role as messianic figures throughout the 18th century for all classes in Ireland. In France, James was allowed to live in the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . James's wife and some of his supporters fled with him, including
13299-603: The exiled court in Paris, the Royalist cause appeared hopeless. James, like his brother, sought refuge in France, serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde , and later against their Spanish allies. In the French army James had his first true experience of battle, in which, according to one observer, he "ventures himself and chargeth gallantly where anything is to be done". Turenne's favour led to James being given command of
13442-575: The following year , Michael Howard promised to work towards having the prohibition removed if the Conservative Party gained a majority of seats in the House of Commons, but the election was won by Blair's Labour Party . Four years later, plans drawn up by Chris Bryant were revealed that would end the exclusion of Catholics from the throne and end the doctrine of male-preference primogeniture in favour of absolute primogeniture, which governs succession solely on birth order and not on sex. The issue
13585-600: The hearts of the people with his continual and indefatigable pains day and night in helping to quench the Fire", wrote a witness in a letter on 8 September. In 1672, the Royal African Company received a new charter from Charles II. It set up forts and factories, maintained troops, and exercised martial law in West Africa in pursuit of trade in gold, silver and African slaves. In the 1680s, the RAC transported about 5,000 slaves
13728-414: The highest offices of his kingdoms, and received at his court the papal nuncio , Ferdinando d'Adda , the first representative from Rome to London since the reign of Mary I . Edward Petre , James's Jesuit confessor, was a particular object of Anglican ire. When the King's Secretary of State , the Earl of Sunderland , began replacing office-holders at court with "Papist" favourites, James began to lose
13871-473: The idea and it was reported that the government of New Zealand did, as well. The Monarchist League of Canada said at the time to the media that it "supports amending the Act of Settlement in order to modernize the succession rules." Later the same year, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg , announced that the government was considering a change in the law. At approximately
14014-621: The invading army, despite his army's numerical superiority. On 11 December, James tried to flee to France, first throwing the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames . He was captured in Kent ; later, he was released and placed under Dutch protective guard. Having no desire to make James a martyr, William let him escape on 23 December. James was received by his cousin and ally, Louis XIV, who offered him
14157-574: The issue of writs for a general election . However, upon realising in September that William of Orange was going to land in England, James withdrew the writs and subsequently wrote to the lord-lieutenants to inquire over allegations of abuses committed during the regulations and election preparations, as part of the concessions he made to win support. In April 1688, James re-issued the Declaration of Indulgence, subsequently ordering Anglican clergy to read it in their churches. When seven bishops , including
14300-474: The joint monarchy of William III and Mary II. Second, if a person not native to England comes to the throne, England will not wage war for "any dominions or territories which do not belong to the Crown of England, without the consent of Parliament". This would become relevant when a member of the House of Hanover ascended the British throne, as he would retain the territories of the Electorate of Hanover in what
14443-423: The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England, pointed out that Prince William (later the Duke of Cambridge) "can marry by law a Hindu , a Buddhist , anyone, but not a Roman Catholic." Opponents of repeal, such as Enoch Powell and Adrian Hilton , believe that it would lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state religion if a Roman Catholic were to come to the throne. They also note that
14586-425: The line of succession established in the Bill of Rights were extinguished, the crown would go to a German cousin, Sophia, Electress of Hanover , and to her Protestant heirs. Sophia was a granddaughter of James VI and I through his eldest daughter, Elizabeth Stuart , the sister of Charles I . Thus, when Anne died in 1714 (less than two months after the death of Sophia), she was succeeded by George I , Sophia's son,
14729-410: The line of succession for the shared crown of all 16 Commonwealth realms. Others contend that that is not the case, and changes to the succession instituted by an Act of the Parliament of Canada "[in accord] with the convention of symmetry that preserves the personal unity of the British and Dominion Crowns". With the announcement in 2007 of the engagement of Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly ,
14872-636: The line of succession to the British throne from male-preference to absolute cognatic . Vaz sought support for his project from the Canadian Cabinet and Prime Minister Stephen Harper , but the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada responded that the issue was "not a priority for the government or for Canadians without further elaboration on the merits or drawbacks of the proposed reforms". Stephenson King , Prime Minister of Saint Lucia , said he supported
15015-451: The line of succession. From time to time there has been debate over repealing the clause that prevents Roman Catholics, or those who marry one, from ascending to the British throne. Proponents of repeal argue that the clause is a bigoted anachronism; Cardinal Winning , who was leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland , called the act an "insult" to Catholics. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor ,
15158-523: The monarch must swear to defend the faith and be a member of the Anglican Communion , but that a Roman Catholic monarch would, like all Roman Catholics, owe allegiance to the Pope. This would, according to opponents of repeal, amount to a loss of sovereignty for the Anglican Church. When in December 1978 there was media speculation that Prince Charles might marry a Roman Catholic, Powell defended
15301-579: The monarch with respect to the Parliament of England, though some of those provisions have been altered by subsequent legislation. Along with the Bill of Rights 1689 , the Act of Settlement remains today one of the main constitutional laws governing the succession not only to the throne of the United Kingdom , but to those of the other Commonwealth realms , whether by assumption or by patriation . The Act of Settlement cannot be altered in any realm except by that realm's own parliament and, by convention , only with
15444-416: The name of " Loyal Parliament ", was initially favourable to James, who had stated that most former exclusionists would be forgiven if they acquiesced to his rule. Most of Charles's officers continued in office, the exceptions being the promotion of James's brothers-in-law, the earls of Clarendon and Rochester , and the demotion of Halifax . Parliament granted James a generous life income, including all of
15587-489: The one House of Parliament, depending on the legislature's structure). This provision was the result of various monarchs influencing judges' decisions, and its purpose was to assure judicial independence . This patent was used prior to 1701 but did not prevent Charles I from removing Sir John Walter as Chief Baron of the Exchequer . Eighth, that "no Pardon under the Great Seal of England be pleadable to an Impeachment by
15730-701: The parish church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the English Jesuit college at Saint-Omer , while the flesh from his right arm was given to the English Augustinian nuns of Paris. The rest of James's body was laid to rest in a triple sarcophagus (consisting of two wooden coffins and one of lead) at the St Edmund's Chapel in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue Saint-Jacques, Paris , with
15873-529: The pilot about the navigation of the ship before it ran aground on a sandbank, and then delayed abandoning ship, which may have contributed to the death toll. In 1683, a plot was uncovered to assassinate Charles II and his brother and spark a republican revolution to re-establish a government of the Cromwellian style . The conspiracy, known as the Rye House Plot , backfired upon its conspirators and provoked
16016-514: The post of Lord High Admiral. His conversion to Roman Catholicism was thereby made public. King Charles II opposed James's conversion, ordering that James's daughters, Mary and Anne, be raised in the Church of England. Nevertheless, he allowed the widowed James to marry Mary of Modena , a fifteen-year-old Italian princess. James and Mary were married by proxy in a Roman Catholic ceremony on 20 September 1673. On 21 November, Mary arrived in England and Nathaniel Crew , Bishop of Oxford , performed
16159-499: The proceeds of tonnage and poundage and the customs duties. James worked harder as king than his brother had, but was less willing to compromise when his advisers disagreed with his policies. Soon after becoming king, James faced a rebellion in southern England led by his nephew, the Duke of Monmouth, and another rebellion in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll . Monmouth and Argyll both began their expeditions from Holland , where James's nephew and son-in-law,
16302-577: The prospect of a Catholic dynasty, excluding his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William III, Prince of Orange , who was also his nephew. Secondly, the prosecution of the Seven Bishops was seen as an assault on the Church of England , and their acquittal on 30 June destroyed his political authority. Ensuing anti-Catholic riots in England and Scotland led to a general feeling that only James's removal could prevent another civil war. Leading members of
16445-530: The provision that excludes Roman Catholics from ascending the throne, stating his objection was not rooted in religious bigotry but in political considerations. He said a Roman Catholic monarch would mean the acceptance of a source of authority external to the realm and "in the literal sense, foreign to the Crown-in-Parliament ... Between Roman Catholicism and royal supremacy there is, as Saint Thomas More concluded, no reconciliation." Powell concluded that
16588-583: The rebels to transportation and indentured servitude in the West Indies in a series of trials that came to be known as the Bloody Assizes . Around 250 of the rebels were executed. While both rebellions were defeated easily, they hardened James's resolve against his enemies and increased his suspicion of the Dutch. To protect himself from further rebellions, James sought safety by enlarging his standing army . This alarmed his subjects, not only because of
16731-511: The repression of Whigs and dissenters . Taking advantage of James's rebounding popularity, Charles invited him back onto the Privy Council in 1684. While some in the English Parliament remained wary of the possibility of a Roman Catholic king, the threat of excluding James from the throne had passed. Charles II died on 6 February 1685 from apoplexy , after supposedly converting to Catholicism on his deathbed. Having no legitimate children, he
16874-428: The restriction on successors being or marrying Roman Catholics; however, potential Roman Catholic successors would be required to convert to Anglicanism prior to acceding to the throne. In reaction to the letter and media coverage, Harper stated that, this time, he was "supportive" of what he saw as "reasonable modernizations". James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 O.S. – 16 September 1701)
17017-479: The royal government. James returned to England for a time when Charles was stricken ill and appeared to be near death. The hysteria of the accusations eventually faded, but James's relations with many in the English Parliament, including the Earl of Danby , a former ally, were forever strained and a solid segment turned against him. On 6 May 1682, James narrowly escaped the sinking of HMS Gloucester , in which between 130 and 250 people perished. James argued with
17160-455: The royal succession remain in force. The legal process required at the federal level remains, theoretically, unclear. The Australian constitution , as was noted during the crisis of 1936, contains no power for the federal parliament to legislate with respect to the monarchy. Everything thus turns upon the status and meaning of clause 2 in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which provides: "The provisions of this Act referring to
17303-465: The same time, James provided partial toleration in Scotland, using his dispensing power to grant relief to Roman Catholics and partial relief to Presbyterians. In 1688, James ordered the Declaration read from the pulpits of every Anglican church, further alienating the Anglican bishops against the Supreme Governor of their church . While the Declaration elicited some thanks from its beneficiaries, it left
17446-464: The same time, it was reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron had written to each of the prime ministers of the other fifteen Commonwealth realms, asking for their support in changing the succession to absolute primogeniture and notifying them he would raise his proposals at that year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth , Australia. Cameron reportedly also proposed removing
17589-558: The same way." In October 2011 the Australian federal government was reported to have reached an agreement with all of the states on potential changes to their laws in the wake of amendments to the Act of Settlement. The practice of the Australian states—for example, New South Wales and Victoria —has been, when legislating to repeal some imperial statutes so far as they still applied in Australia, to provide that imperial statutes concerning
17732-568: The succession laws would have no immediate implications. Consequently, there was little public concern with the issues and debate had been confined largely to academic circles until the November 2010 announcement that Prince William was to marry . This raised the question of what would happen if he were to produce first a daughter and then a son. The Times reported on 6 November 1995 that Prince Charles had said on that day to Tony Blair and Paddy Ashdown that "Catholics should be able to ascend to
17875-507: The suspension of the Test Acts, the prosecution of the Seven Bishops for merely petitioning the Crown, the establishment of a standing army, and the imposition of cruel punishments. The Declaration was the basis for the Bill of Rights enacted later in 1689. The Bill also declared that henceforth, no Roman Catholic was permitted to ascend the English throne, nor could any English monarch marry
18018-619: The throne as King George I , starting the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain. The Act of Supremacy 1558 had confirmed the independence of the Church of England from Roman Catholicism under the English monarch. One of the principal factors which contributed to the Glorious Revolution was the perceived assaults made on the Church of England by King James II , a Roman Catholic, who was deposed in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband William III . The need for this Act of Settlement
18161-539: The throne. The act contained eight additional provisions that were to only come into effect upon the death of both William and Anne: Firstly, the monarch "shall join in communion with the Church of England ". This was intended to ensure the exclusion of a Roman Catholic monarch. Along with James II's perceived despotism, his religion was the main cause of the Glorious Revolution, and of the previous linked religious and succession problems which had been resolved by
18304-489: The trouble soldiers caused in the towns, but because it was against the English tradition to keep a professional army in peacetime. Even more alarming to Parliament was James's use of his dispensing power to allow Roman Catholics to command several regiments without having to take the oath mandated by the Test Act. When even the previously supportive Parliament objected to these measures, James ordered Parliament prorogued in November 1685, never to meet again in his reign. At
18447-478: Was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II , on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution . The last Catholic monarch of England , Scotland , and Ireland , his reign is now remembered primarily for conflicts over religion. However, it also involved struggles over the principles of absolutism and divine right of kings , with his deposition ending
18590-488: Was also the Elector of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire ; because of this, and also for personal reasons, he wished to visit Hanover from time to time. Fourth, all government matters within the jurisdiction of the Privy Council were to be transacted there, and all council resolutions were to be signed by those who advised and consented to them. This was because Parliament wanted to know who
18733-568: Was deciding policies, as sometimes councillors' signatures normally attached to resolutions were absent. This provision was repealed early in Queen Anne's reign, as many councillors ceased to offer advice and some stopped attending meetings altogether. Fifth, no foreigner ("no Person born out of the Kingdoms of England Scotland or Ireland or the Dominions thereunto belonging"), even if naturalised or made
18876-407: Was declared Queen; she was to rule jointly with her husband William, who would be King. On 11 April 1689, the Parliament of Scotland declared James to have forfeited the throne of Scotland as well. The Convention Parliament issued a Declaration of Right on 12 February that denounced James for abusing his power, and proclaimed many limitations on royal authority. The abuses charged to James included
19019-630: Was not there in person to promote such a law. In response, the Parliament passed an Act that stated, "whoever should preach in a conventicle under a roof, or should attend, either as preacher or as a hearer, a conventicle in the open air, should be punished with death and confiscation of property". In March 1686, James sent a letter to the Scottish Privy Council advocating toleration for Roman Catholics but not for rebellious Presbyterian Covenanters. Presbyterians would later call this period " The Killing Time ". James allowed Roman Catholics to occupy
19162-509: Was often maligned, with Gilbert Burnet famously remarking that James's mistresses must have been "given [to] him by his priests as a penance". Anne Hyde died in 1671. After the Restoration, James was confirmed as Lord High Admiral, an office that carried with it the subsidiary appointments of Governor of Portsmouth and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports . Charles II also made his brother
19305-450: Was prompted by the inability of William and Mary, as well as of Mary's Protestant sister (the future Queen Anne), to produce any surviving children, and by the perceived threat posed by the pretensions to the throne by remaining Roman Catholic members of the House of Stuart . The act played a key role in the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain as, though England and Scotland had shared
19448-408: Was raised again in January 2009, when a private member's bill to amend the Act of Succession was introduced in parliament. In early 2011 Keith Vaz , a Labour Member of Parliament, introduced to the House of Commons at Westminster a private member's bill which proposed that the Act of Settlement be amended to remove the provisions relating to Roman Catholicism and change the primogeniture governing
19591-603: Was removed from the line of succession. More recently, Peter Phillips , the son of Anne, Princess Royal , and eleventh in line to the throne, married Autumn Kelly ; Kelly had been brought up as a Roman Catholic, but she converted to Anglicanism prior to the wedding. Had she not done so, Phillips would have forfeited his place in the succession upon their marriage, only to have it restored in 2015. Excluding those princesses who have married into Roman Catholic royal families, such as Marie of Edinburgh , Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh , one member of
19734-481: Was succeeded by his brother James, who reigned in England and Ireland as James II and in Scotland as James VII. There was little initial opposition to James's accession, and there were widespread reports of public rejoicing at the orderly succession. He wished to proceed quickly to the coronation, and he and Mary were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685. The new Parliament that assembled in May 1685, which gained
19877-450: Was taken as a prisoner to Edinburgh. A new trial was not commenced because Argyll had previously been tried and sentenced to death. The King confirmed the earlier death sentence and ordered that it be carried out within three days of receiving the confirmation. Monmouth's rebellion was coordinated with Argyll's, but was more dangerous to James. Monmouth had proclaimed himself King at Lyme Regis on 11 June. He attempted to raise recruits but
20020-515: Was taken to London and held with his younger siblings Henry , Elizabeth and Henrietta in St James's Palace . Frustrated by their inability to agree terms with Charles I, and with his brother Charles out of reach in France , Parliament considered making James king. James was ordered by his father to escape, and, with the help of Joseph Bampfield , in April 1648 successfully evaded his guards and crossed
20163-476: Was the senior Protestant one, therefore with a legitimate claim to the English throne; Parliament passed over her Roman Catholic siblings, namely her sister Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate , and their descendants, who included Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans ; Louis Otto, Prince of Salm , and his aunts; Anne Henriette, Princess of Condé , and Benedicta Henrietta, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg . Since
20306-511: Was ultimately defeated at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690 O.S. when William arrived, personally leading an army to defeat James and reassert English control. James fled to France once more, departing from Kinsale , never to return to any of his former kingdoms. Because he deserted his Irish supporters, James became known in Ireland as Séamus an Chaca or "James the shit". Despite this popular perception, later historian Breandán Ó Buachalla argues that "Irish political poetry for most of
20449-499: Was unable to gather enough rebels to defeat even James's small standing army. Monmouth's soldiers attacked the King's army at night, in an attempt at surprise, but were defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor . The King's forces, led by Feversham and Churchill, quickly dispersed the ill-prepared rebels. Monmouth was captured and later executed at the Tower of London on 15 July. The King's judges—most notably, George Jeffreys —condemned many of
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