William Sterling

Following the attempt by James II to re-establish Catholicism in Britain his daughter and son-in-law were invited to oust him to protect the Protestant church. To do so they had to grant more power to Parliament.

A survey of the Life & Times of Britain’s only Joint Monarchs. They came to power in what was called the Glorious Revolution and although they only reigned a short while they laid the foundations for modern Britain. It was also the period of Wren & Purcell. The latter wrote much of his best music for the Queen.

We will cover the family background of William and Mary and how they came to be heirs to the throne, situation in England following the Restoration of the Monarchy, the difficult relationship Holland and France, the religious tensions and conflicts in England during the reigns of Charles II and James II, why the English supported James’s succession but soon turned against him, the unusual settlement of having joint monarchs, the relationship between the king and queen and with Parliament and the queen’s sister, the role of Queen Mary in promoting music and architecture, the position of the king after her death and his responsibilities as king of England and ruler of the Netherlands, his hatred of Louis XIV and the wars he fought against him.