Leader of Protestant Europe
The Warming Pan Plot
 |
| Queen Mary and Prince James |
‘The queen’s great belly seems to grow faster
than they have observed their own to do.’[i]
In reply to a query from Mary, Anne,
sure that the Catholics would stop at nothing to ensure a Catholic succession,
agreed with the majority that the pregnancy was doubtful. The queen now refused
to undress in front of Anne and one day struck her in the face with a glove,
when Anne appeared to be too inquisitive about the pregnancy. Anne herself had
suffered another miscarriage that spring and never forgave her step-mother for
the insult.
In May, William was visited by the Earl
of Torrington – Rear-Admiral Herbert, Admiral Russell and his brother the Earl
of Bedford. William told them that, if invited by the great and good of
England, he could be ready to invade by September. James, concerned by the
reaction to the news of his wife’s pregnancy, now demanded the return of
English & Scottish regiments, currently serving in the Dutch republic.
William and the States General refused to release them, apart from any officers
who wished to return. James also demanded the forcible repatriation of any
English exiles in the Netherlands. When William refused to accede to his wishes;
James, somewhat foolishly, demanded compliance with his demands as head of the
family.
A further Declaration of Indulgence was
issued in April and in May seven bishops, objecting to an order that the
declaration be read out from every pulpit in the kingdom, were sent to the
Tower charged with seditious libel. At the same time James sought a ruling of
legality from the courts, to show that his using the declaration to get round
legislation he did not agree with. Judges who did not agree with his
interpretation of the law were dismissed.
The uneasy mood in the country was not
assuaged by the announcement on 10th June that the queen had given
birth to a son – James Francis Edward. The birth was a month early and James
had invited only Catholics as witnesses, thereby giving the rumour mongers yet
another stick to beat him with. The Archbishop of Canterbury was in the Tower
and Anne and Mary’s Hyde uncles were not invited. It was widely believed
throughout the country that Jesuit priests had smuggled a healthy baby boy into
the birthing chamber in a warming pan. The Protestant succession was now in
jeopardy.
The Glorious Revolution
·
The
Earl of Devonshire
·
The
Earl of Danby
·
The
Earl of Shrewsbury
·
Admiral
Russell
·
Baron
Lumley
·
Henry
Sidney
·
and
Mary’s former spiritual mentor Dr Compton, the Bishop of London.
The letter
asked for William’s intervention in England, to help restore liberty and the
rule of law. No mention was made of any offer of the crown.
 |
| Earl of Torrington, Rear Admiral Herbert |
William’s
uncle Zuylenstein returned to Holland bringing a report which did not speak
well of James. Then Queen Mary wrote to her stepdaughter, reproaching her for failing
to ask after her half-brother in her letters. Mary replied coldly that she
would show similar affection towards any child of the same father, implying
that by now she believed that James was not the father of this young prince. William
was an authoritarian, who did not approve of unsanctioned acts against the
state. James was the rightful king of England and his father-in-law. But
William was also concerned that England would turn into a French puppet state,
thereby increasing the risks to the Dutch republic. It was these concerns that
overrode William’s authoritarian principles.
James now
brought regiments of Irish Roman Catholics to England, twisting the fraught
situation even tighter. His subjects viewed these fresh troops as a foreign
army, in the country to subdue an alienated nation. It was even considered possible
that James might use French troops to keep his throne; although Louis was by
now more concerned with France’s borders with the Holy Roman Empire, as opposed
to further incursion in the Spanish Netherlands.
 |
| James II |
Louis
informed James of the intended invasion, but James ignored the warnings on the
grounds that the season was too far gone to transport an army across the
channel. Louis also tried, through the French ambassador to the Dutch Republic,
to persuade the States General to withhold support for the invasion. The States
General were unimpressed by Louis’ interference with Dutch affairs. The Dutch
were also concerned that France and England were planning a repeat of the 1672
invasion of the republic. The English denied that any such alliance was in
place, but were disbelieved.
Louis’
machinations in the Rhineland united the German princes, and when the French
armies marched to the Rhine, the States General gave William permission to
invade England. William mounted a propaganda campaign in England, while
readying troops for invasion. He also made sure that Mary was kept fully
informed of events. Aware of the stress involved for Mary should he have to
invade her father’s country, William had spent most of the summer with Mary. William
issued a declaration to the English people, listing grievances, which were
blamed on evil advisers, rather than James himself.
William was
advised that the army and navy would not impede his progress, but he had no
idea how much weight to give to such assurances. The English navy was blocking
the path of the invasion fleet. For many years James, as Duke of York, had been
its Lord High Admiral. In the event the invasion fleet avoided the English
ships in the channel. Before leaving William told Mary that if he died she must
marry again, but not to a Papist. Mary informed him that she could never love
anyone other than him and prayed that she would not survive him.
The fleet
set sail on 16th October, but were blown back into port. The two
hundred transport ships accompanied by 100 war ships set sail again on 20th
October. By the next day contrary winds had blown them back to Dutch shores. It
was not until 1st November that the ‘Protestant wind’ began to blow.
William decided to aim for the West Country, rather than the north where Danby,
Devonshire & Baron Lumley waited[ii].
It had been planned to land at Torbay, but in the fog the fleet overshot. On 5th
November William and his troops disembarked at Brixham.
The
following day, despite bad weather, the army set forth for Exeter and William
entered the city on the 9th, the bishop and dean having fled to
London. The townspeople were relieved to hear William’s promise to pay for all
provisions and he and his men were warmly welcomed. William waited impatiently
for the local nobility and gentry to join his side as promised. It was not
until 17th November that Edward Seymour, a former Speaker of the
House of Commons, joined William’s force. Two days later the Marquis of Bath,
the commander of the Plymouth garrison, offered to place his troops at
William’s disposal. The flood gates now opened and men flocked to William’s
standard.
 |
| Earl of Danby, later Duke of Leeds |
William had
four English and three Scots regiments totalling circa 4,000 men, brought with
him from Holland. There were also troops from Sweden and Brandenburg[iii],
mercenaries from Switzerland, Huguenot volunteers and WΓΌrttemburg
cavalrymen in William’s train giving a further 11,000 foot soldiers and 4,000
mounted troops.
The English
army was 34,000 strong as James’s insecurities required him to keep a large
army. But the army was disaffected. Many of the men viewed the giving of
commissions to Catholics illegal and objected to the inclusion of Irish
Catholics within their ranks. By the time he left to join his army James had
already reversed all his policies, failing only to call new elections, which he
said was impossible while a foreign army remained in English soil. This last
minute overturning of his political agenda failed to convince many of James’
subjects to support him.
James joined
his army on 19th November. By now his nephew Lord Cornbury had
declared for William and the people of Cheshire, under the leadership of Lord
Delamere had risen up against their king. Danby and his friends then took
control of York and the Earl of Shrewsbury occupied Nottingham, while James
stayed inert in Shrewsbury, unable to decide on any action as the bad news
flooded in.
Within four
days, while William’s army was on the march, James decided not to give battle
and withdraw. Several of James’ colonels, including John Churchill and Prince
George of Denmark declared for William. On the 28th James agreed to
negotiate and William met James’ commissioners at Hungerford on the 7th
December. William’s terms included:
·
Dismissal
of all Catholic officers from the army
·
Revocation
of all proclamations against William and his supporters
·
Payment
of William’s army.
In return
William agreed to halt his army 40 miles west of London as long as James’ army
stayed 40 miles to the east of the capital. Both James and William were to
attend the next session of parliament and Portsmouth was to be placed under the
command of an officer agreeable to both James and William, to ensure against
any possibility of the landing of a force from France, in support of James.
James had
already sent Queen Mary and his baby son to France. On the 11th,
unable to face the thought of any compromise, James slipped away from
Whitehall, taking a boat for Vauxhall (James throwing the Great Seal in the
river) with two Catholic gentlemen. James rode to the east coast and from there
took a boat to France. He was apprehended by Kentish fishermen, who brought him
back to London, the last thing William and his supporters had wanted. Meanwhile
the army had agreed to submit to William’s authority. William arranged for a
council of twelve to decide what to do with his father-in-law, who was now a
figure for pity. It was agreed that James should be allowed to escape. James
was moved to Rochester under guard, but by 23rd December was
crossing the channel to France and exile; this time there was no hitch in his
escape.
The Dual Monarchy
On the 20th
December William and Parliament agreed that Parliament would take control of
the civil side of affairs, while William would command the army. At a meeting
with three leading lights of the House of Lords, William laid out his position.
He was the only person able to impose control over the country, now that James
had left. William was not prepared to be anything but king. He could not, as a
husband, subordinate himself to his wife. If he was offered the crown he would
accept, but he could not act as Regent for James. He was prepared for Anne to
be his heir, if Mary remained childless. If his terms were not met he would
return home, where he already had his responsibilities as Stadtholder and
Captain General. This was a bluff as William needed England as an ally in his
ongoing fight with Louis’ expansionist plans. When the throne was offered to Mary
in her own right, she rejected the offer.
Parliament
insisted on a joint monarchy – Mary would be Queen Regnant, while William was
king. Mary left the Netherlands on 20th February. William was
waiting for her at Greenwich, where they embraced each other. William was
pleased to see her, but Mary was concerned at his ill-health. William was thin,
pale and coughing blood. In England Mary
and William shared the loss of their relative freedom in Holland. Here the
ceremony of the English court would now rule their lives. The crown was offered
to William and Mary, by the Lord and Commons in the Banqueting House in
Whitehall. William accepted for them both and they were declared King and
Queen.
Bibliography
The Later Stuarts
1660-1744 – Sir George Clark, Oxford University Press 1985
Queen Anne – Edward
Gregg, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980
William and Mary – John
van der Kiste, Sutton Publishing 2003
William and Mary – John
Miller, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1974
www.en.wikipedia.org
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