five years on the throne, after which William ruled on his own.) In Britain, his Glorious Revolution and the reign that followed had enormous consequences. As a condition of taking the throne, William had been compelled to sign a Bill of Rights, which was later seen as establishing the basic principles of British democracy. For Catholics, however, William and Mary’s rule was less positive: they were denied the right to vote or stand for parliament, and British monarchs were forbidden from marrying Catholics until as late as 2011. Equally controversial were the couple’s escapades in Northern
...more
