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| Portrait by Peter Lely (c. 1670) |
Birth name: James Stuart
Gaelic name: Seumas Stiùbhart
Born: 14 October 1633, Westminster, Middlesex, Kingdom of England
Father: King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland
Mother: Princess Henrietta-Maria of France
House: Stuart
Nationality: English
Religion: Protestantism then Catholicism
Claim: Child of Charles I
Reign: 06 February 1685 - 23 December 1688 (3 years)
Coronation: 23 April 1685
Predecessor: Charles II
Successor: William III & Mary II
Died: 16 September 1701 (aged 67), Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines, Kingdom of France
Cause: Brain haemorrhage
Burial: Church of the English Benedictines
Motto: From God comes the King, from the King comes law
Spouse(s):
- Anne Hyde (m. 1660 - 1671)
- Lady Mary of Modena (m. 1673 - 1701)
Children:
- With Anne Hyde
- Prince Charles of York, Duke of Cambridge (1660 - 1661)
- Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, Princess of Orange (1662 - 1694)
- Prince James of York, Duke of Cambridge (1663 - 1667)
- Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland (1665 - 1714)
- Prince Charles of York, Duke of Kendal (1666 - 1667)
- Prince Edgar of York, Duke of Cambridge (1667 - 1671)
- Princess Henrietta of York (1669 - 1669)
- Princess Catherine of York (1671 - 1671)
- With Lady Arabella Churchill
- Henrietta FitzJames, Viscountess Galmoye (1667 - 1730)
- James FitzJames, Duke of Berwick (1670 - 1734)
- Henry FitzJames, Duke of Albemarle (1673 - 1702)
- Arabella FitzJames (1674 - 1704)
- With Lady Catherine Sedley
- Catherine Darnley, Countess of Anglesey then Duchess of Buckingham and Normanby (1681 - 1743)
- James Darnley (1684 - 1685)
- Charles Darnley (???? - ????)
- With Lady Mary of Modena
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1674 - 1674)
- Princess Catherine of York (1675 - 1675)
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1675 - 1675)
- Princess Isabel of York (1676 - 1681)
- Prince Charles of York, Duke of Cambridge (1677 - 1677)
- Princess Elizabeth of York (c. 1678 - c. 1678)
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1681 - 1681)
- Princess Charlotte-Maria of York (1682 - 1682)
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1683 - 1683)
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1684 - 1684)
- James, Prince of Wales 'The Old Pretender' (1688 - 1766)
- Princess Louisa (1692 - 1712)
Appearance:
James was described as being of medium height, with a strong build. He had large blue eyes, as well as thick lips and a pointed chin. His skin was also described as pale. James also wore large, brown, curly-haired wigs, and tended to favour French fashions.
Later in life, his skin would be covered with smallpox scars, and his appearance was disturbing enough that his second wife burst into tears upon seeing him in person for the first time.
Character:
Like his older brother, James was very much notorious for his womanising and sexual appetite. He had many affairs throughout his life, and fathered many children, both legitimate and illegitimate. Though he did care for his wives, he did not remain faithful to them. However, he was noted to have been a dedicated father, something which was unusual at the time for royal men, and could often be found playing on the floor with his children.
Having spent the majority of his youth in France, James favoured French fashions and culture. It was likely his time in France, and his mother's own religious views, that caused him to eventually convert to Catholicism. James kept this a secret for nearly a decade until it was discovered, and would ultimately led to his declining popularity. He would even attempt to bully his own children into converting, but they refused.
James was notoriously stubborn and refused to compromise, which would eventually lead to huge problems during his reign. However, he did tend to be transparent and straightforward, which even his enemies admired him for.
He was also a talented military commander, and was noted for his bravery. He would directly participate in battles, but unfortunately his stubbornness could result in chaos and catastrophe, such as his arguments with a navigator causing the sinking of his ship, and subsequent deaths of many of his crew members. Despite this, he was a great asset to the Royal Navy, and helped effectively organise them, and was determined to serve his country, acting both in the field and as an administrator.
Unfortunately, his effective administration skills would lead to the dramatic increase in enslaved West-Africans, and James showed no care towards them. They would be branded with his initials, and treated brutally by being kidnapped from their homes and families, and forced into inhumane ship crossings and plantation work in America and the Caribbean. Therefore, James is directly responsible for one of the greatest crimes against humanity in human history.
Biography:
James was the second surviving son of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his wife, Princess Henrietta-Maria of France, born in England in 1633. When he was born, James was only second in line for the throne, and it appeared unlikely he would ever inherit it. As was custom of the second son of the reigning monarch, he was assigned the role of Duke of York.
In his childhood, James would primarily be raised alongside his elder brother, Charles, and was brought up within the Protestant faith. However, most of his youth would be spent during the English Civil War, and both he and his elder brother would accompany their father into battle, despite their young age. He was very nearly captured during the Battle of Edgehill, but narrowly managed to escape.
After this, James spent the majority of his education in Oxford, until the city officially surrendered to Parliamentary forces in 1646. James was captured and transferred to live with his younger siblings in London while their father remained on the run. His older brother fled to France where his mother had already been sent for her own safety. Because of this, Parliament very briefly considered fully deposing of King Charles and Prince Charles, and making James the king instead. But this plan was halted by King Charles ordering his son to escape to escape to the Netherlands.
In 1649, James' father would finally be captured, arrested and executed for treason. England fell into complete chaos while his brother was officially recognised as the King of Scotland. There were attempts to restore Charles to the throne of the three kingdoms, but these would ultimately end in defeat, with Charles once again having to flee to mainland Europe. It appeared that the British royal family had lost everything, and would never be able to return to the British Isles, so long as Britain remained a republic.
As a result, James was forced to make a new life for himself in exile, and spent the majority of his time in France where he joined the French military. Here, James would prosper, and was noted for his bravery, quickly rising through the ranks and eventually becoming Lieutenant-General. Unfortunately, in 1657, Charles would ally himself with Spain, who France was at war against, and this resulted in James being kicked out of the country. James bitterly hated his brother over this, and the two of them would argue until James appears to finally have accepted his new circumstances, this time joining the Spanish army.
James' luck would then change forever when the commonwealth government of England collapsed in 1660, and it was agreed that the monarchy would be restored. His brother became King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, with James recognised as his heir.
Upon his return to England, James began an affair with Anne Hyde, the daughter of one of Charles' ministers, which sparked a huge controversy due to her commoner status. James promised to marry her, and the two of them conceived their first child outside of wedlock. Everybody begged the two of them not to marry, but they went ahead and married in secret anyway. The two of them would go on to have eight children together, though only two daughters, Mary and Anne, would survive into adulthood. James was noted to have been a particularly devoted father, and enjoyed family life. However, he was not loyal to his wife, and possessed mistresses, fathering many illegitimate children.
During the reign of his brother, James played a prominent leading role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade business, overseeing the atrocities committed by the English with the kidnapping and enslavement of West Africans. He also worked in the Royal Navy and commanded fleets during the Anglo-Dutch war. He threw himself directly into the fighting where some of his courtiers were decapitated by the enemy, spraying blood and brain tissue all over him. This caused James to be banned from active service by his brother due to him remaining the next heir to the throne. Instead, James was given governor roles to oversee the colonies in America, particularly the Hudson Bay area.
In 1666, James also aided in directly fighting the Great Fire of London. This made him very popular with the people of the city.
Around this time, James and his wife, Anne, began their conversion to Catholicism, likely influenced by his mother's faith, and the large amount of time he had spent in France and Spain. This was kept a secret for nearly 10 years, in which James continued to attend Protestant services for the sake of keeping up appearances. He knew his conversion would not be popular, as Britain was very much firmly Protestant by this point in time. However, his conversion was finally revealed to the public in 1673, when he refused to swear an oath as Lord High Admiral to denounce the Catholic faith.
Just before this, his first wife passed away from cancer, leaving James a widower. Although his conversion to Catholicism was not popular, especially with his brother, he was still allowed to marry the Catholic Lady Mary of Modena in order to cement an Italian alliance in 1673. James was 40 years old, while his new bride was just 15. Upon seeing him for the first time, Mary burst into tears, horrified by his age and appearance.
Meanwhile, James' only surviving legitimate daughters continued to be raised Protestant, and were married off by Charles to Protestant princes within Europe. However, this did not quell the fears that now existed in Britain regarding the fact that James still remained next in line for the throne. King Charles II and his wife, Queen Catherine, failed to produce any surviving children, meaning that a Catholic could soon by crowned king. There were attempts to have him excluded from the line of succession, but his brother always refused and thwarted any efforts to do so.
To avoid conflict, James was sent away from court, where he took up residence in Scotland and began sailing again. It was here that James would nearly die once again when his ship struck a sandbank in the middle of an argument between himself and the navigator. He delayed the ship's evacuation, which caused the deaths of 250 people. James narrowly escaped with his own life.
In 1683, James and Charles were very nearly assassinated in the Rye House Plot while attending a horse race. The plot was unsuccessful, but it caused a brief spike in his popularity, and thus, Charles was able to finally invite his brother back to court, and made him part of the Privy Council.
Just two years later, Charles began to grow increasingly ill, and James was by his brother's side on his deathbed. Upon his death, James now officially became King James II & VII of England, Scotland and Ireland. Although there were still fears and doubts regarding his religious views, James still received a fairly warm welcome as the new king, and he immediately began to work hard in his new role, completely throwing himself into duty.
As soon as he became king, James faced many rebellions in opposition to his rule. However, he was able to easily defeat them, though they did serve to toughen his attitude towards anyone who spoke against him. He became more paranoid, and raised a large army, which only served to alarm his subjects further, suggesting that they would soon fall under tyranny. James also granted more rights to Catholics within the country, further decreasing his popularity. He began a slow restoration of Catholicism to British services, despite many of his subjects begging him not to.
The final straw came when James and Mary finally produced a surviving son, Prince James, in 1688, after multiple miscarriages, stillbirths, and short lived infants. This secured a possible Catholic royal line of succession, causing the majority of the Protestant population to panic. Beforehand, Princesses Mary and Anne had been next in line for the throne, and they were both Protestants, meaning that many viewed James' reign as a brief period they had to suffer through before things went back to normal. However, this was now no longer the case. Powerful Protestant nobles and politicians spread rumours that the new baby was not truly James' child, and that he had been smuggled into the Queen's chambers in a warming pan.
Negotiations began with William, Prince of Orange, the husband of Princess Mary, to invade England and potentially depose James as king. Princess Mary, as the eldest surviving legitimate child of James, possessed a strong claim to the throne, but William also possessed a claim too, as he was also James' nephew. More importantly, both of them were Protestant. Princess Anne also turned against her father and allied herself with the Protestant uprisings. When James received news of these plans, he arrogantly refused any foreign help, believing his own army would be enough to fight off the Dutch invasion.
Upon the revelation that his daughters had betrayed him, James panicked, and instead attempted to flee rather than fight. He was briefly captured by William's forces in Kent, but in fear of making James a Catholic martyr, he allowed the king to escape to France. James would be taken in by his cousin, King Louis XIV of France.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, the Parliaments of both England and Scotland needed to come to a decision now that the country was effectively without a monarch. They decided that James' decision to flee was a declaration of abdication. The crown was instead offered to his eldest daughter, Mary, who would go on to become Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, and it was decided that her husband would be her co-ruler, becoming King William III & II of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was also decided by act of Parliament that no Catholic would ever be allowed on the throne, nor would the reigning monarch be allowed to marry a Catholic.
However, James refused to accept this. He first invaded Ireland with the help of French troops, as Ireland still predominantly supported James, especially since the majority of the population remained Catholic. Unfortunately, James would quickly be defeated by William and his forces, and was once again forced to flee back to France. After this, James would never set foot on the British Isles again.
James was the forced to live the remainder of his life in exile with his wife and their surviving children together. In 1696, James was even offered the Polish crown, but he refused, believing this would further disqualify him from ever regaining the English, Scottish, and Irish crowns. He still hoped to return to his kingdom, but after the French king made peace with William, this looked less and less likely.
In 1701, James finally passed away of a brain haemorrhage.
Rule:
Like his father, King Charles I, James' reign is regarded as one of the most disastrous in British history. His behaviour, policies, and unpopularity would ultimately lead to his deposition as monarch.
By this point in British history, the majority of the population was Protestant, therefore there was already a great deal of suspicion regarding his reign when he came to the throne as a converted Catholic. There was a great deal of discrimination towards Catholics, and many within England and Scotland feared that James' ascension would lead to the restoration of Catholicism within Britain. These fears appeared to be confirmed when James started to grant much more right to Catholics. While in this day and age, this would be viewed as fair and tolerant, through the eyes of the Stuart era, this was a disaster and caused widespread fear.
James also made a huge mistake when he began building a large army for himself, which scared the British population into believing that they would once again fall into a military dictatorship that was still within living memory of members of the population. Only this time, it appeared that another extreme end of the spectrum would be taking control. In this regard, James was foolish, and refused to listen to the concerns of his subjects. He possessed the view, much like his father, that the king was appointed by God, and that he answered to nobody. James refused to compromise, which would further decrease his popularity.
Though effective as an administrator and dedicated to his duties, James' reign would also see the continuation of the expansion of the British Empire, and the crimes against humanity that would be committed in the name of this expansionist ideology. James was personally responsible for the highest number of enslaved Africans, and while this was overlooked during this period of time, in modern times, it makes his reign even more of a negative period of British history. James showed no care towards the rights of his fellow humans, and this would also extend to those he regarded as his enemies. To even peacefully question his policies was viewed as open rebellion against him that would result in arrest and execution.
He became so unpopular that even his own daughters turned against him and joined the Glorious Revolution. It was this betrayal that caused James to flee his kingdom, a decision that would be viewed as his declaration of abdication. However, even if James had stayed in Britain, it is likely he would have been defeated and deposed, due to the popular support of William of Orange's army that began invading.
Despite his best efforts, James lost the throne and would continue to never again raise enough popular support to gain it back.
Trivia:
- When the American territory of New Amsterdam was captured from the Dutch by the British, it was re-named New York in his honour, a reference to his title as the Duke of York. The area of Albany was also named in his honour, a reference to his title as the Duke of Albany.
- Many kidnapped and enslaved West-Africans were branded on the chest with his initials 'DY' for 'Duke of York'.
- James was very nearly canonised as a Catholic saint, however, it would ultimately fail to gain popular support.
Quotes:
"I have a true English heart."
Speech to Parliament.
"God help me... my own children have forsaken me."
Upon finding out his daughters had joined the rebellions against him.
"If occasion were, I hope God would give me his grace to suffer death for the true Catholic religion as well as banishment."
Expressing his devotion to the Catholic faith.
Timeline of Reign:
| 1685: Monmouth Rebellion - Protestants attempt to depose James as king begins.
| 1685: Argyll's Uprising - An attempt by Scottish Protestants to depose James end in failure.
| 1685: Battle of Sedgemoor - Monmouth Rebellion defeated.
| 1685: Bloody Assizes - Trials of the rebels result in 250 executions.
| 1685: Closure of Parliament sessions - James refuses to meet with Parliament again during his reign.
| 1686: The Killing Time - Presbyterians in Scotland forced to tolerate Catholicism.
| 1687: Catholic rights increase - James promotes further toleration of Catholics in Britain.
| 1687: Theory of Gravity published - Isaac Newton publishes theory on gravity.
| 1688: Seven Bishops petition - Seven bishops submit a petition to James to re-think his policies.
| 1688: Seven Bishops arrested - Seven bishops arrested for contempt.
| 1688: Warming Pan Scandal - Rumours spread about newborn Prince James not being James' son.
| 1688: Invitation to William of Orange - William of Orange invited to invade England.
| 1688: Glorious Revolution - William invades England and Protestants rise up against James' rule.
| 1688: James is captured - James is captured in Kent while attempted to flee invading forces.
| 1688: James flees to France - James is allowed to escape and flees to France.
| 1689: Abdication - James' escape is declared a declaration of his abdication.
Sources & Further Reading:
Brian, J. (n.d.). King James II. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-James-II/
Easton, H. (2026). Was James II Britain’s most misunderstood king? The story of the king who lost three kingdoms but changed British history forever. Discover Britain. https://www.discoverbritain.com/history/icons/james-ii/
James II by Peter Lely.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2017). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_II_by_Peter_Lely.jpg
James II | Westminster Abbey. (n.d.) Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/james-ii
Kenyon, J. (2019). James II | Biography, Religion, Accomplishments, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-II-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland
The Reign of James II. (n.d.). UK Parliament. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/overview/reignofjames/
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