Portrait of James II (1633-1701) in Garter Robes (oil on canvas)
King James VII and II (14 October 1633 O.S. – 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II. He was also King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, King Charles II, on 6 February 1685. Charles II was the Monarch who took the Crown during the Restoration in 1660 following the death in 1658 of Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. He was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James was the last Catholic Monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
His reign is now remembered primarily for conflicts over religious tolerance, but it also involved struggles over the principles of absolutism and the divine right of kings. His deposition ended a century of political and civil strife in England by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown.
The English Parliament consists of elected representatives of the common people in a debating chamber. The Monarch is the Head of State.
The Monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British Monarchy. It is the constitutional form of government by which the hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, plus the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man) and the British Overseas Territories.
