主题：【原创】谈一点现在对十五年前大事件及后果的感想 -- 黑岛人

James II was overthrown mainly because of his religion not his style of government. James II belonged to the Catholic Church, while most of the people at the time in England protestants. There was already an exclusion crisis in the last years of the reign of Charles II. The Whigs tried to pass a bill in the parliament, to prevent Duke of York (James II) from succeeding the throne. This bill failed partly due to Chareles II's determination to defend royal privilege, partly because the Whigs could not agree the person to replace James as the heir. Some people preferred Charles' bastard son, Duke of Monmoth, while others preferred James' protestant daughter Mary (who married to William in Holland). When James II came to the throne in 1685, he was widely unpopular. But there was no mood of revolution then. Most people just wished him to die early then Mary would succeed to the throne. The crisis came in 1687. James II's young wife suddenly got preganant and later bore a boy who was baptised as a Catholic. Under English law, this boy (later the pretender, James III) instead of Mary became the legitimate heir. The Whigs got horrified and disseminate the vile and completely unfounded rumor that the boy was not really James's son. Under this pretence, they invited William, Mary's husband to invade England. Reminiscent of his father's fate, James II fled to France. Mary and William ruled Britain jointly.

One of the consequence of the Glorious Revolution is that even today by the law passed in 1689, the English monarch cannot be a Catholic or marry a Catholic.

The decline in the monarch's power began in the Hanovarian era. George I came from Germany, didn't like to live in England and could not speak English. George II was also borne in Germany and preferred to live there. Domestically, the Tories supported James III and his son. The king had to solely rely on the support of the Whig aristocratic families in stead of playing one party against another. The power of the first minister or prime minister grew significantly. But the king still retained considerable power. The old Pitt could not become prime minister as long as George III disliked him.

The real decline in the monarch's power started in 1830. It was the first time a government (PM: Duke of Wellington) supported by the king lost a general election. After 1831 reform bill, it became impossible for the monarch to intervene and rig the election.

Although the constitutional change from 1640 to 1689 was small, the psychological effect of the execution of Charles I was profound. The huge disadvantage of the monarch is that he or she cannot resign. If the parliament pass a bill and the monarch refuses to sign it, the government will resign. Since the bill is approved by the parliament, it is impossible to form an alternative government. And since the monarch cannot rig the election, there is no point in dissolving the parliament. Because of the bloodshed in 1649, the king cannot rule by himself. Therefore, the power of the monarch has been eroded gradually since 1830 and becomes almost non-existent nowadays.