Glorious Revolution

1688-89 Period in English history that saw the overthrow of King James II, the crowning of William of Orange-Nassau and his wife Mary II, and the final recognition of parliamentary supremacy. The Catholicism of James II and the birth of his catholic son and heir James Francis Edward Stuart on June 10th, 1688, aroused a united Whig and Tory opposition to his rule. In a letter dated June 30th, seven peers, including Lord Shrewsbury, Lord Devonshire, Lord Danby, Lord Lumley, Edward Russell, Henry Sidney and Henry Compton, Bishop of London, offered the throne to William of Orange and his wife Mary, James II’s protestant daughter. William landed in Torbay in Devon on November 5th, 1688. On December 23rd, James II fled to France. The ‘convention parliament’, which consisted of members from Charles II’s last parliament, convened on January 22nd. William and Mary were offered the crown under the conditions set forth in the Declaration of Rights (1689), later enshrined in law in the Bill of Rights. Following acceptance of the conditions, which assured parliamentary supremacy, William and Mary were crowned as joint rulers.

The expression ‘Glorious Revolution’ was first used by John Hampden (1653-96) in 1689.