James II Stuart, King of England

  General Notes:

James II (1633-1701), king of Great Britain and Ireland, was born in London, the second son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. The excitement over the popish plot necessitated his retirement from England and in 1679 the Exclusion Bill, to prevent his accession, was brought forward. The same year James returned and was sent to suppress the Covenanters in Scotland, which he did with much cruelty. At the close of 1680 the Exclusion Bill was thrown out by the Lords; and after a stormy period a reaction in favor of royalty set in, which continued till the death of Charles II in 1685, when he succeeded to the throne. Having overcome the rising of Monmouth, James set up a new Court of Ecclesiastical Commission, and issued his first Declaration of Indulgence. In April 1688 he issued his second Declaration of Indulgence. Seven bishops petitioned against the king’s illegal command, and were tried. Their acquittal was followed by an invitation to William of Orange to come over to England and his acceptance was followed by James’ flight to France. One of his daughters, Mary, married the Prince of Orange. Another succeeded to the English throne as Queen Anne. His son by his second wife, James Francis Edward, is known as the Old Pretender. Louis XIV received him kindly. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

Fled the country 11 Dec 1688. Declared to have Abdicated by Parliament, 28 Jan 1689. [GADD.GED]

  Noted events in his life were:

• Title: King of England, 1685-1689.

• Abdication: King of England, 28 Jan 1869.

James married Anne Hyde on 3 Sep 1660 in London, London, England.⁷⁷³ (Anne Hyde was born on 12 Mar 1636/37 in Windsor, Berkshire, England,⁷⁷³ died on 31 Mar 1671 in St. James' Palace, London, England ^771,773 and was buried in 1671 in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England ⁷⁷³.)

James next married Mary of Modena, daughter of Alfonso IV de Este, Duke of Modena and Laura Martinozzi. (Mary of Modena was born on 5 Oct 1658 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy ⁷⁷³ and died on 7 May 1718 in Paris, Île-de-France, France ^771,773.)

James also had a relationship with Arabella Churchill. (Arabella Churchill was born on 23 Feb 1647/48 ⁷⁷³ and died on 30 May 1730 ⁷⁷³.)

James also had a relationship with Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester. (Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester was born circa 1657 ⁷⁷³ and died on 26 Oct 1717 in Bath, Somerset, England ⁷⁷³.)