Who Was King James II of England & VII of Scotland, Part Three

Threatened by a Catholic dynasty, a group of Protestant nobles, later known as the Immortal Seven, invited the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army. William arrived in England on 5 November 1688, many Protestant officers defected to his side as did James' daughter Princess Anne. James bottled it, refusing to attack and fled to France, seeking refuge in the court of his cousin, Louis XIV. Parliament declared James' daughter Anne as Queen, she was to rule jointly with her husband, William of Orange, who would be King. With the assistance of French troops, James landed in Ireland in March 1689, the Irish Parliament still recognised James as its king. James attempted to use Ireland as a springboard to regain the throne and set about raising an army. However, he was ultimately defeated by William at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, he once again fled to France, he would never return to any of his former kingdoms, dying in France in 1671 of a brain haemorrhage. James' younger daughter Anne succeeded to the throne when William III died in 1702. The Act of Settlement provided that, if the line of succession established in the Bill of Rights were to be extinguished then the crown would go to her German cousin, Sophia, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. Anne died in 1714 and was succeeded by Sophia's son George I. James son, James Francis Edward was recognised by Jacobite supporters as James III of England and VIII of Scotland. He led a rising in Scotland in 1715 but was defeated, his son Bonnie Prince Charlie rose again in 1745 but he too was defeated, since then no serious attempt has being made to restore the Stuart heir.

About the Author:

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net