On this day 320 years ago, a letter from seven prominent Englishmen, later known as the Immortal Seven, reached William of Orange, inviting him to invade England, essentially to stop the country from reverting to Catholicism. King James II, the grandson of the King James of “King James Version” Bible fame, became king of England in April 1685. James II was a Catholic, and his autocratic style and religious preferences became a subject of considerable tension.
Queen Mary gave birth to a Catholic son, James Francis Edward, on 10 June 1688, causing public alarm at the prospect of a Catholic dynasty. William of Orange was married to James II’s protestant daughter Mary, and accordingly William and Mary were seen as the most viable solution to the dilemma. After receiving the “Letter to William” from the Immortal Seven, William did invade in November 1688, resulting in the “Glorious Revolution”.
James threw the Great Seal of the Realm into the Thames before attempting to escape to France, on 11 December 1688. Parliament was convened and decided that James II had effectively abdicated, so his daughter Mary was declared Queen, ruling jointly with her husband William who was declared King. Parliament then passed a Bill of Rights, limiting the powers of future monarchs and prohibiting Catholics from ascending to the throne of England.