
James II and VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland; his reign is now remembered primarily for struggles over religious tolerance. However, it also involved the principles of absolutism and divine right of kings, and his deposition ended a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown.

The Battle of the Boyne was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, versus those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II, had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1689. The battle took place across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James's failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.

The Correspondence with Enemies Act 1691 was an Act of the Parliament of England which made it high treason to correspond with the deposed King James II. It was repealed and replaced by the Correspondence with the Pretender Act 1697. After James's death, the Correspondence with James the Pretender Act 1701 and the Correspondence with Enemies Act 1704 made it treason to correspond with his son, and the Treason Act 1743 made it treason to correspond with his son's sons.

The Correspondence with the Pretender Act 1697 was an Act of the Parliament of England which made it high treason to correspond with the deposed King James II. When James II died and his son "James III" asserted his own claim to the throne, the Correspondence with James the Pretender Act 1701 was passed to replace this provision.

The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 through 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland because he was Roman Catholic. None became law. Two new parties formed. The Tories were opposed to this exclusion while the "Country Party", who were soon to be called the Whigs, supported it. While the matter of James's exclusion was not decided in Parliament during Charles's reign, it would come to a head only three years after he took the throne, when he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Finally, the Act of Settlement 1701 decided definitively that Catholics were to be excluded from the English throne.

The Glorious Revolution of November 1688, or Revolution of 1688, covers events leading to the deposition of James II and VII, and replacement by his daughter Mary II, and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange. While the Revolution was quick and relatively bloodless, establishing the new regime took much longer and led to significant casualties. The term was first used by John Hampden in late 1689.
Anne Hyde was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York.

Jacobitism was a largely 17th- and 18th-century movement that supported the restoration of the House of Stuart to the British throne. The name is derived from Jacobus, the Latin version of James.

This is a list of the members of the British nobility and gentry, who in 1688 deserted King James II and pledged their allegiances to Prince William of Orange, as the events of the Glorious Revolution unfolded.Admiral Matthew Aylmer, who played a significant role in diverting the loyalty of the Royal Navy from King James to William of Orange. Colonel Berkley, possibly Lord Fitzharding. Captain Henry Bertie, brother of the Earl of Abingdon. Squire Bray Henry Booth, 2nd Baron Delamere, took arms in Cheshire on November 1688, appearing in Manchester with 50 armed and mounted men, which had trebled before reaching Bowden Downs. James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire, appeared in arms at Derby, proceeded to Nottingham, which soon became the headquarters of the Northern insurrection. John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Viscount Cholmondeley, joined the northern insurrection at Nottingham in 1688, created Baron in 1689 and Earl in 1706. Charles Cokayne, 3rd Viscount Cullen Squire Coote George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton Henry Compton, youngest son of the 2nd Earl of Northampton, Bishop of London, P.C. George Churchill (1653–1710), brother of John Churchill and captain at sea, afterwards admiral. John Churchill, Baron Churchill of Sandridge (1650–1722), deserted on 25 Nov 1688, arguably "the death-blow for the Royal Cause". Afterwards created Earl and later Duke of Marlborough and captain-general. Sir Richard Dutton, or possibly Sir Ralph Dutton, MP for Gloucester Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, MP for York. Charles Fane, 3rd Earl of Westmorland Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, the first who on 24 November 1688 deserted the King's camp, accompanied by John Churchill. Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, an "ancient Cavalier who had fought for Charles I, and had shared the exile of Charles II", assembled with William at the Hague in 1688. John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, placed the fortress at Plymouth, which he commanded, at William's disposal on 18 November 1688, when William had arrived at Exeter. "The invaders therefore had now not a single enemy in their rear." Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford Captain Griffith Sir John Guise, Baronet, MP for Gloucester Henry Hamilton-Moore, 3rd Earl of Drogheda Sir Edward Harley, Baronet, in November 1688 took up arms in Worcestershire on behalf of the Prince of Orange. Arthur Herbert, vice admiral, created Earl of Torrington in 1689. Henry Herbert, 4th Baron Herbert of Cherbury, in November 1688 took up arms in Worcestershire on behalf of the Prince of Orange. Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk, with 300 armed and mounted men, in November 1688 appeared in the market place of Norwich, where he was joined by the mayor and Alderman. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury (1661–1723), son of the Earl of Clarendon and one of the first royal commanders to desert. He was the senior officer at Salisbury and deserted with as many troops as he could induce to follow him. Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (1638–1709), father of Lord Cornbury Robert Leke, 3rd Earl of Scarsdale John Lovelace, 3rd Baron Lovelace, set out for Exeter to join the Prince of Orange, but was taken prisoner at Gloucester. Richard Lumley seized Newcastle for William, created Viscount Lumley in 1689 and Earl of Scarborough in 1690. John Manners, 9th Earl of Rutland Squire Marle Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, moved to Nottingham and was joined by Lord Cholmondeley and by Lord Grey de Ruthyn. Edward Osborne, Viscount Latimer, son the Earl of Danby. Peregrine Osborne, Lord Dunblane, son the Earl of Danby. Thomas Osborne, 1st Earl of Danby (1631–1712), seized York for William, was created Duke of Leeds in 1694. James Paynter, tried for and later acquitted of treason in Cornwall. Sir Robert Peyton, Baronet, colonel in the Dutch invasion Charles Powlett, Earl of Wiltshire Charles Bodvile Robartes, 2nd Earl of Radnor Richard Savage, Lord Colchester, son of Earl Rivers Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset Robert Shirley, Lord Ferrers of Chartley Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield Charles Talbot, 12th Earl of Shrewsbury Squire Tibbing, probably Squire Thomas Tipping (1653–1718), former MP for Oxfordshire who had fled to the Netherlands due to a scandal Sir John Trelawney, possibly Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet Squire Trenchard (1635–1713), possibly William Trenchard of Cutteridge, Wiltshire Henry Yelverton, 15th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, joined the Northern insurrection in 1688, created Viscount de Longueville in 1690.

The Loyal Parliament was the only Parliament of England of King James II, in theory continuing from May 1685 to July 1687, but in practice sitting during 1685 only. It gained its name because at the outset most of its members were loyal to the new king. The Whigs, who had previously resisted James's inheriting the throne, were outnumbered both in the Commons and in the Lords.

Mary of Modena was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII (1633–1701). A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the younger brother and heir presumptive of Charles II (1630–1685). She was uninterested in politics and devoted to James and their children, two of whom survived to adulthood: the Jacobite claimant to the thrones, James Francis Edward, and Louisa Maria Teresa.

The Non-juring schism was a split in the established churches of England, Scotland and Ireland, following the deposition and exile of James II and VII in the 1688 Glorious Revolution.

The statue of James II is a bronze sculpture located in the front garden of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Probably inspired by French statues of the same period, it depicts James II of England as a Roman emperor, wearing Roman armour and a laurel wreath. It originally also depicted him holding a baton. It was produced by the workshop of Grinling Gibbons. The execution was most likely, according to contemporary accounts, the work of the Brabantian sculptors Peter van Dievoet and Laurence van der Meulen, rather than of Gibbons himself. The statue has been relocated several times since it was first erected in the grounds of the old Palace of Whitehall in 1686, only two years before James II was deposed.

The Three Eldest Children of Charles I is an oil painting on canvas by Anthony van Dyck, produced between November 1635 and March 1636 and still in the Royal Collection. Numerous studio copies were made of this painting.

The Three Eldest Children of Charles I is an oil painting on canvas of 1635 by Anthony van Dyck in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.

The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called the Jacobite War in Ireland or the Williamite–Jacobite War in Ireland.