January 22, 1689: Convention Parliament convenes to decide Fate of James II-VII

Tags

Bill of Rights, Convention Parliament, Glorious Revolution, James III-II of England Scotland and Ireland, King of England Scotland and Ireland, Mary II, William III-II

The English Convention (1689) was an assembly of the Parliament of England which met between January 22 and February 12, 1689 and transferred the crowns of England and Ireland from James II-VII to William III and Mary II.

A parallel Scottish Convention met in March 1689 and confirmed that the throne of Scotland was also to be awarded to William II and Mary II.

Royal Standard of William III-II and Mary II

Assemblies of 1688

Immediately following the Glorious Revolution, with King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland in flight and Prince William III of Orange nearing London, the Earl of Rochester summoned the Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual to assemble, and they were joined by the privy councillors on December 12, 1688 to form a provisional government for England. It is referred to as a Convention Parliament due to the fact it was not summoned by the King.

James II-VII returned to London on December 16; by the 17th he was effectively a prisoner of William III of Orange who arrived in London the next day. Subsequently, William III of Orange allowed James II-VII to flee in safety, to avoid the ignominy of doing his uncle and father-in-law any immediate harm.

William III or Orange refused the crown as de facto king and instead called another assembly of peers on December 21, 1688. On December 23, James II-VII fled to France. On December 26 the peers were joined by the surviving members of Charles II’s Oxford Parliament (from the previous reign), ignoring the MPs who were just elected to James’s Loyal Parliament of 1685.

The Earl of Nottingham proposed a conditional restoration of King James II-VII an idea supported by Archbishop Sancroft, but the proposal was rejected and instead the assembly asked William of Orange to summon a convention.

William III-II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, Prince of Orange, Stadholder of the Netherlands

Convention of 1689

The Convention Parliament met on January 22, 1689. The parliament spent much time arguing over whether James II-VII was considered to have abdicated or abandoned the throne in some manner and who then should take the crown.

The Whigs referred to theories of social contract and argued that William of Orange alone should now be king. A few ‘Radical’ Whigs argued for a republic, but most Whigs argued for a limited monarchy.

The Tories favoured the retention of James II-VII, a regency, or William’s wife, Mary, alone as queen. Archbishop Sancroft and loyalist bishops preferred that James II-VII be conditionally restored.

On January 29, it was resolved that England was a Protestant kingdom and only a Protestant could be king, thus disinheriting a Catholic claimant. James II-VII was a Roman Catholic.

By the beginning of February, the Commons agreed on the descriptor “abdicated” and that the throne was vacant, but the Lords rejected abdicated as the term was unknown in common law and indicated that even if the throne was vacant, it should automatically pass to the next in line, which implied it was to be Mary.

Mary II, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, Princess of Orange

However, on February 6, the Lords capitulated, primarily since it became apparent that neither Mary nor Anne would agree to rule in place of William. As a compromise, the Lords proposed that William III and Mary II should both take the throne, which the Commons agreed if William alone held regal power.

The parliament drew up a Declaration of Right to address abuses of government under James II-VII and to secure the religion and liberties of Protestants, which was finalised on February 12.

On February 13, William of Orange and Mary were proclaimed King and Queen of England and Ireland. The acceptance of the Crown was conditional not upon acceptance of the Declaration of Right but on the assumption that they rule according to law.

On February 23, 1689, King William III reconvened the Convention into a regular parliament by dissolving it and summoning a new parliament.

The actions of the Convention Parliament were regularised early 1690 by the Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689, the first act passed by the regularly elected 2nd Parliament of William III and Mary II.

December 11, 1688: The Glorious Revolution of 1688: King James II-VII is Captured at Faversham

Tags

1542 Crown of Ireland Act, Articles of Grievances, Convention Parliament, Faversham, France, Glorious Revolution, James II-VII of England Scotland and Ireland, Kirk, Mary II of England Scotland and Ireland, William III-II of England Scotland and Ireland

The Queen (Mary of Modena) and James Francis, Prince of Wales left for France on December 9, 1688 and King James II-VII followed separately on 10th. Accompanied only by Sir Edward Hales and Ralph Sheldon, James made his way to Faversham in Kent seeking passage to France, first dropping the Great Seal in the Thames in a last ditch attempt to prevent Parliament being summoned.

In London, his flight and rumours of a “Papist” invasion led to riots and destruction of Catholic property, which quickly spread throughout the country. To fill the power vacuum, the Earl of Rochester set up a temporary government including members of the Privy Council and City of London authorities, but it took them two days to restore order.

When news arrived James II-VII had been captured in Faversham on 11 December 11, by local fishermen, Lord Ailesbury, one of his personal attendants, was sent to escort him back to London; on entering the city on 16th, James II-VII was welcomed by cheering crowds. By making it seem James remained in control, Tory loyalists hoped for a settlement which would leave them in government; to create an appearance of normality, he heard Mass and presided over a meeting of the Privy Council.

However, James made it clear to the French ambassador he still intended to escape to France, while his few remaining supporters viewed his flight as cowardice, and failure to ensure law and order criminally negligent.

Happy to help him into exile, Prince William of Orange recommended he relocate to Ham, London, largely because it was easy to escape from. James suggested Rochester instead, allegedly because his personal guard was there, in reality conveniently positioned for a ship to France.

On December 18, James II-VII left London with a Dutch escort as William of Orange entered, cheered by the same crowds who greeted his predecessor two days before. On December 22nd, Berwick arrived in Rochester with blank passports allowing them to leave England, while his guards were told that if James wanted to leave, “they should not prevent him, but allow him to gently slip through”. Although Ailesbury and others begged him to stay, James II-VII left for France on December 23, 1688.

The Revolutionary Settlement

James’ departure significantly shifted the balance of power in favour of William of Orange, who took control of the provisional government on December 28. Elections were held in early January for a Convention Parliament which assembled on 22nd; the Whigs had a slight majority in the Commons, the Lords was dominated by the Tories but both were led by moderates. Archbishop Sancroft and other Stuart loyalists wanted to preserve the line of succession; although they recognised keeping James on the throne was no longer possible, they preferred James’s daughter and Princess Mary either be appointed his regent or sole monarch.

The next two weeks were spent debating how to resolve this issue, much to the annoyance of William, who needed a swift resolution; the situation in Ireland was rapidly deteriorating, while the French had over-run large parts of the Rhineland and were preparing to attack the Dutch.

At a meeting with Danby and Halifax on February 3, 1689, William announced his intention to return home if the Convention did not appoint him joint monarch, while Mary let it be known she would only rule jointly with her husband. Faced with this ultimatum, on February 6, the Convention Parliament declared that in deserting his people James had abdicated and thus vacated the crown, which was therefore offered jointly to William of Orange and Mary.

James II-VII, King England, Scotland and Ireland

Historian Tim Harris argues the most radical act of the 1688 Revolution was breaking the succession and establishing the idea of a “contract” between ruler and people, a fundamental rebuttal of the Stuart ideology of the Divine Right of Kings. While this was a victory for the Whigs, other pieces of legislation were proposed by the Tories, often with moderate Whig support, designed to protect the Anglican establishment from being undermined by future monarchs, including the Calvinist William III.

The Declaration of Right was a tactical compromise, setting out where James had failed and establishing the rights of English citizens, without agreeing their cause or offering solutions. In December 1689, this was incorporated into the Bill of Rights.

However, there were two areas that arguably broke new constitutional ground, both responses to what were viewed as specific abuses by James II-VII. First, the Declaration of Right made keeping a standing army without Parliamentary consent illegal, overturning the 1661 and 1662 Militia Acts and vesting control of the military in Parliament, not the Crown.

The second was the Coronation Oath Act 1688; the result of James’ perceived failure to comply with that taken in 1685, it established obligations owed by the monarchy to the people.

At their coronation of April 11, 1689 William III and Mary II swore to “govern the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same”. They were also to maintain the Protestant Reformed faith and “preserve inviolable the settlement of the Church of England, and its doctrine, worship, discipline and government as by law established”.

William III-II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland

Although William III and Mary II were proclaimed joint sovereigns of England, Scotland as an independent kingdom, could theoretically proclaime their own separate monarch..

Scotland was not involved in the landing of William of Orange, by November 1688 only a tiny minority actively supported James; many of those who accompanied William were Scots exiles, including Melville, the Argyll, his personal chaplain William Carstares and Gilbert Burnet.

News of James’s flight led to celebrations and anti-Catholic riots in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Most members of the Scottish Privy Council went to London; on January 7, 1689, they asked William III to take over the Scottish government.

Elections were held in March for a Scottish Convention, which was also a contest between Presbyterians and Episcopalians for control of the Kirk. While only 50 of the 125 delegates were classed as Episcopalian, they were hopeful of victory since William III supported the retention of bishops.

However, on March 16, a Letter from James II-VII was read out to the convention, demanding obedience and threatening punishment for non-compliance. Public anger at its tone meant some Episcopalians stopped attending the convention, claiming to fear for their safety and others changed sides.

The 1689–1691 Jacobite Rising forced William III to make concessions to the Presbyterians, ended Episcopacy in Scotland and excluded a significant portion of the political class. Many later returned to the Kirk but Non-Juring Episcopalianism was the key determinant of Jacobite support in both 1715 and 1745.

The English Parliament held James II-VII abandoned his throne; the Convention argued he ‘forfeited’ it by his actions, as listed in the Articles of Grievances. On 11 April, the Convention ended James’ reign and adopted the Articles of Grievances and the Claim of Right Act, making Parliament the primary legislative power in Scotland.

On May 11, 1689 William III and Mary II accepted the Crown of Scotland; after their acceptance, the Claim and the Articles were read aloud, leading to an immediate debate over whether or not an endorsement of these documents was implicit in that acceptance. In Scotland William was known as William II.

Under the 1542 Crown of Ireland Act, the English monarch was automatically King of Ireland as well. Tyrconnell had created a largely Roman Catholic army and administration which was reinforced in March 1689 when James II-VII landed in Ireland with French military support; it took two years of fighting before the new regime controlled Ireland.

History of Male British Consorts Part VIII

Tags

Convention Parliament, Glorious Revolution, House of Commons, Mary II of England, William III of England, William III of Orange

Mary, the future Queen Mary II, was born at St James’s Palace in London on April 30, 1662, was the eldest daughter of the Duke of York (the future King James II-VII), and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Mary’s uncle was King Charles II, who ruled the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland; her maternal grandfather, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, served for a lengthy period as Charles’s chief advisor. She was baptised into the Anglican faith in the Chapel Royal at St James’s, and was named after her ancestor, Mary I, Queen of Scots.

At the age of fifteen, Mary became betrothed to her cousin, the Protestant Stadtholder of the Netherlands, Williem III of Orange. Willem was the son of the King’s late sister, Mary, Princess Royal, and Prince Willem II and thus fourth in the line of succession after James, Mary, and Anne. At first, Charles II opposed the alliance with the Dutch ruler—he preferred that Mary wed the heir to the French throne, the Dauphin Louis, thus allying his realms with Catholic France and strengthening the odds of an eventual Catholic successor in Britain; but later, under pressure from Parliament and with a coalition with the Catholic French no longer politically favourable, he approved the proposed union.

The Duke of York agreed to the marriage, after pressure from chief minister Lord Danby and the King, who incorrectly assumed that it would improve James’s popularity among Protestants. When James told Mary that she was to marry her cousin, “she wept all that afternoon and all the following day”.

James II-VII inherited the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from his elder brother Charles II in 1685 with widespread support in all three countries, largely based on the principle of divine right of birth. In June 1688, two events turned dissent toward the Catholic king into a crisis; the first on June 10 was the birth of James’s son and heir James Francis Edward, threatening to create a Catholic dynasty and excluding his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband Willem III of Orange.

The second was the prosecution of the Seven Bishops for seditious libel; this was viewed as an assault on the Church of England and their acquittal on June 30, destroyed James’s political authority in England. Anti-Catholic riots in England and Scotland now made it seem that only his removal as monarch could prevent a civil war.

Representatives of the English political elite invited Willem III of Orange to assume the English throne; after he landed in Brixham on November 5, 1688, James’s army deserted and he went into exile in France on December 23. In February 1689, Parliament held James II-VII had ‘vacated’ the English throne.

Willem (William) summoned a Convention Parliament in England, which met on January 22, 1689, to discuss the appropriate course of action following James’s flight. William desired the throne but felt insecure about his position; though his wife preceded him in the line of succession to the throne, William wished to reign as king in his own right, rather than as a mere consort. William was third in line to the throne at this time behind his wife,, Mary and sister-in-law, Anne. William further demanded that he remain as king even if his wife were to die. As mentioned above, the only precedent for a joint monarchy in England dated from when Queen Mary I married Felipe II of Spain. Felipe II remained king only during his wife’s lifetime, and restrictions were placed on his power.

The English Convention Parliament was very divided on the issue. The radical Whigs in the Lower House proposed to elect William as a king (meaning that his power would be derived from the people); the moderates wanted an acclamation of William and Mary together; the Tories wanted to make him regent or only acclaim Mary as queen. Furthermore, Mary, remaining loyal to her husband, refused to reign on her own without her husband.

The House of Commons, with a Whig majority, believed that the throne was safer if the ruler were Protestant. The Commons made William accept a Bill of Rights, and, on February 13, 1689, Parliament passed the Declaration of Right and the Crown was offered to William III and Mary II as joint sovereigns. It was, however, provided that “the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and executed by the said Prince of Orange in the names of the said Prince and Princess during their joint lives.” In other words, even though both monarchs were sovereigns (and neither a consort of the other) William was given the majority of executive power.

William III and Mary II were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on April 11, 1689 by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton. Normally, the coronation is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the Archbishop at the time, William Sancroft, refused to recognise James’s removal from the throne.

William also summoned a Convention of the Estates of Scotland, which met on March 14, 1689 and sent a conciliatory letter, while James sent haughty uncompromising orders, swaying a majority in favour of William. On April 11 the day of the English coronation, the Convention finally declared that James was no longer King of Scotland. William II (as he was numbered in Scotland) and Mary II were offered the Scottish Crown; they accepted on May 11.

Joint sovereigns of England: Differences between Felipe II of Spain and William III of Orange.

Tags

Consort, Convention Parliament, Glorious Revolution, King Consort, King James II-VII of England and Scotland, Mary I of England, Mary II of England, Philip II of Spain, Queen Consort, Queen Mary’s Marriage Act, William III and Mary II, William of Orange

On April 11, 1689 William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of England, Scotland and Ireland, the only time in British history when two sovereigns sat upon these thrones.

Generally when a Queen Regnant mounts the British throne her husband will not share her royal title. Elizabeth I never married and the husbands of sovereign queens Anne, Victoria and the current reigning monarch, Elizabeth II, were never made King Consorts. Although Scotland is different where Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was made King Consort of Scotland upon his marriage to Queen Mary I of Scotland.

Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland

However, twice in English history the husbands of a reigning Queen Regnant were granted the title “King of England” but there were differences. One was a full sovereign and the other was a consort. Ironically, these were the spouses of Queen Mary I of England and Ireland and Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Let me explain further….

In 1554, Mary married the future King Felipe II of Spain, becoming queen consort of Habsburg Spain on his accession in 1556.

Under the English common law doctrine of the day, jure uxoris, the property and titles belonging to a woman became her husband’s upon marriage, and it was feared that any man she married would thereby become King of England in fact and not just in name. An Act of Parliament was passed to address this issue. The Act that was passed was the Queen Mary’s Marriage Act and it was given Royal Assent in April of 1554.

While Mary’s grandparents, Fernando II-V and Isabella I of Castile and Aragon (Spain) had retained sovereignty of their own realms during their marriage, there was no precedent to follow in England. Under the terms of Queen Mary’s Marriage Act, Felipe was to be styled “King of England” on all official documents (including Acts of Parliament) and all such Acts of Parliament were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. However, Felipe was not granted the title of King of England for his lifetime, it was for Queen Mary’s lifetime only.

Further stated in the Act, England would not be obliged to provide military support to Felipe in any war, and Felipe could not act without his wife’s consent or appoint foreigners to office in England. Felipe was unhappy at the conditions imposed, but he was ready to agree for the sake of securing the marriage. He had no amorous feelings toward Mary and sought the marriage for its political and strategic gains; Felipe’s aide Ruy Gómez de Silva wrote to a correspondent in Brussels, “the marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration, but in order to remedy the disorders of this kingdom and to preserve the Low Countries.”

Felipe II, King of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily, Archduke of Austria and Duke of Milan. King Consort of England and Ireland.

In reality, Queen Mary’s Marriage Act seems to have served as a business contract between England and Spain; it specifies what Spain could expect from the union, while at the same time assuring the English that England would not become a satellite of Spain.

Although Felipe was a King Consort of England and Queen Mary was the sovereign, his position was not the same as other husbands of reigning queens. The arrangement under Queen Mary’s Marriage Act did give Felipe some limited power and authority.

The Act stated that King Felipe (Philip) would take part in governing Mary’s realms while reserving most authority for Mary herself. Formally, King Philip was to co-reign with his wife according to the Act, which nevertheless ensured that the new king would not become too powerful by prohibiting him from appointing foreigners to any offices, taking his wife or any child that might be born to them outside her realm and claiming the crown for himself should he outlive his wife. (Montrose 2006, p. 46).

William III and Mary II.

James II-VII inherited the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from his elder brother Charles II with widespread support in all three countries, largely based on the principle of divine right or birth. In June 1688, two events turned dissent toward the Catholic king into a crisis; the first on June 10 was the birth of James’s son and heir James Francis Edward, threatening to create a Catholic dynasty and excluding his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband Willem III of Orange.

The second was the prosecution of the Seven Bishops for seditious libel; this was viewed as an assault on the Church of England and their acquittal on June 30, destroyed James’s political authority in England. Anti-Catholic riots in England and Scotland now made it seem that only his removal as monarch could prevent a civil war.

William III, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. Prince of Orange, Stadholder of the Netherlands

Representatives of the English political elite invited Willem III of Orange to assume the English throne; after he landed in Brixham on November 5, 1688, James’s army deserted and he went into exile in France on December 23. In February 1689, Parliament held James II-VII had ‘vacated’ the English throne.

Willem (William) summoned a Convention Parliament in England, which met on January 22, 1689, to discuss the appropriate course of action following James’s flight. William desired the throne but felt insecure about his position; though his wife preceded him in the line of succession to the throne, William wished to reign as king in his own right, rather than as a mere consort. William further demanded that he remain as king even if his wife were to die. As mentioned above, the only precedent for a joint monarchy in England dated from when Queen Mary I married Felipe II of Spain. Felipe II remained king only during his wife’s lifetime, and restrictions were placed on his power.

The English Convention Parliament was very divided on the issue. The radical Whigs in the Lower House proposed to elect William as a king (meaning that his power would be derived from the people); the moderates wanted an acclamation of William and Mary together; the Tories wanted to make him regent or only acclaim Mary as queen. Furthermore, Mary, remaining loyal to her husband, refused to reign on her own without her husband.

Mary II, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The House of Commons, with a Whig majority, believed that the throne was safer if the ruler were Protestant. The Commons made William accept a Bill of Rights, and, on February 13, 1689, Parliament passed the Declaration of Right and the Crown was offered to William III and Mary II as joint sovereigns. It was, however, provided that “the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and executed by the said Prince of Orange in the names of the said Prince and Princess during their joint lives.” In other words, even though both monarchs were sovereigns (and neither a consort of the other) William was given the majority of executive power.

William III and Mary II were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on April 11, 1689 by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton. Normally, the coronation is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the Archbishop at the time, William Sancroft, refused to recognise James’s removal.

William also summoned a Convention of the Estates of Scotland, which met on March 14, 1689 and sent a conciliatory letter, while James sent haughty uncompromising orders, swaying a majority in favour of William. On April 11 the day of the English coronation, the Convention finally declared that James was no longer King of Scotland. William II and Mary II were offered the Scottish Crown; they accepted on May 11.