William of Orange Lands and James II Flees
A Dutch prince invited by English peers arrives with an army and a king abandons his throne without a fight
Quick facts
- William lands
- 5 November 1688
- James II flees to France
- December 1688
- William and Mary accept throne
- 13 February 1689
- Key document
- Declaration of Rights, later the Bill of Rights
What happened
Alarmed by the Catholic King James II's authoritarian rule and the birth of a Catholic heir who threatened to extend it indefinitely, a group of English peers invited the Dutch prince William of Orange, husband of James's Protestant daughter Mary, to intervene. The National Archives records that on 5 November 1688 William arrived with his army on English shores; as his forces advanced, James's own army disintegrated, and in December 1688 James II fled to France. William and Mary were then presented with a Declaration of Rights insisting on a contractual model of kingship rather than absolute royal authority, and accepted the throne jointly on 13 February 1689.
Why it matters
What became known as the Glorious Revolution replaced an unelected, hereditary claim to absolute rule with a monarchy that explicitly accepted limits set by Parliament, cemented later that year in the Bill of Rights. It marked the point at which England's constitutional balance shifted decisively from crown toward Parliament, a settlement that has underpinned the British constitution ever since.
How we know
William's invasion, James's flight, and the terms William and Mary accepted are documented in the Declaration of Rights and the subsequent Bill of Rights, both surviving 17th-century parliamentary instruments, along with contemporary diplomatic correspondence describing James's collapse.
Sources
- The National Archives (UK). Glorious Revolution · Reputable sourcenationalarchives.gov.uk · The domain "nationalarchives.gov.uk" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Royal Museums Greenwich. William III · Reputable sourcermg.co.uk · The domain "rmg.co.uk" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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