Invitation to William
Encyclopedia
The Invitation to William was a letter sent by seven notable Englishmen, later named the Immortal Seven, to William III, Prince of Orange
, received by him on 30 June 1688 (Julian calendar
, 10 July Gregorian calendar
). In England a Catholic male heir to the throne, James Francis Edward Stuart
, had been born, and the letter asked William to force the ruling king, his uncle and father-in-law James II of England
, by military intervention to make William's Protestant wife Mary
, James's eldest daughter, heir, preferably by establishing that the newborn Prince of Wales
was a fraud.
The letter informed William that if he were to land in England
with a small army, the signatories and their allies would rise up and support him. The Invitation briefly rehashed the grievances against King James
, claimed that the King's son was supposititious and that the English people generally believed him to be so, deplored that William had sent a letter to James congratulating him with the birth of his son and offered some brief strategy on the logistics of the proposed landing of troops. It was carried to William in The Hague
by Rear Admiral
Arthur Herbert
(the later Lord Torrington) disguised as a common sailor, and identified by a secret code
.
The invitation convinced William to carry out his existing plans to land with a large Dutch army, culminating in the Glorious Revolution
during which James was deposed and replaced by William and Mary as joint rulers. William and Mary had already in April of that year, when William had started to assemble an invasion force, asked for such an invitation to be given, within the context of a secret correspondence since April 1687 between them and several leading English politicians, discussing how best to counter the pro-Catholic policies of James.
The signatories were:
Of the seven, Danby and Compton were generally considered to be Tories
, while the other five signatories were generally seen as Whigs
.
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, received by him on 30 June 1688 (Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, 10 July Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
). In England a Catholic male heir to the throne, James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, had been born, and the letter asked William to force the ruling king, his uncle and father-in-law James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, by military intervention to make William's Protestant wife Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
, James's eldest daughter, heir, preferably by establishing that the newborn Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
was a fraud.
The letter informed William that if he were to land in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with a small army, the signatories and their allies would rise up and support him. The Invitation briefly rehashed the grievances against King James
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, claimed that the King's son was supposititious and that the English people generally believed him to be so, deplored that William had sent a letter to James congratulating him with the birth of his son and offered some brief strategy on the logistics of the proposed landing of troops. It was carried to William in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Arthur Herbert
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington was a British admiral and politician of the late 17th and early 18th century. Cashiered as a rear-admiral by James II of England in 1688 for refusing to vote to repeal the Test Act, which prevented Catholics from holding offices, he brought the Invitation to...
(the later Lord Torrington) disguised as a common sailor, and identified by a secret code
Code (cryptography)
In cryptography, a code is a method used to transform a message into an obscured form, preventing those who do not possess special information, or key, required to apply the transform from understanding what is actually transmitted. The usual method is to use a codebook with a list of common...
.
The invitation convinced William to carry out his existing plans to land with a large Dutch army, culminating in the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
during which James was deposed and replaced by William and Mary as joint rulers. William and Mary had already in April of that year, when William had started to assemble an invasion force, asked for such an invitation to be given, within the context of a secret correspondence since April 1687 between them and several leading English politicians, discussing how best to counter the pro-Catholic policies of James.
The signatories were:
- The Earl of DanbyThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of LeedsThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, KG , English statesman , served in a variety of offices under Kings Charles II and William III of England.-Early life, 1632–1674:The son of Sir Edward Osborne, Bart., of Kiveton, Yorkshire, Thomas Osborne...
- The Earl of ShrewsburyCharles Talbot, 1st Duke of ShrewsburyCharles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG, PC was an English statesman. Born to Roman Catholic parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson—he converted to the Church of England...
- The Earl of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire KG PC was a soldier and Whig statesman, the son of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Cecil.-Life:...
- The Viscount LumleyRichard Lumley, 1st Earl of ScarbroughRichard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough was an English soldier and statesman best known for his role in the Glorious Revolution.-Origins:...
- The Bishop of LondonBishop of LondonThe Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
(Henry Compton) - Edward RussellEdward Russell, 1st Earl of OrfordAdmiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC was the First Lord of the Admiralty under King William III.-Naval career:...
- Henry SydneyHenry Sydney, 1st Earl of RomneyHenry Sydney , 1st Earl of Romney was born in Paris, a son of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, of Penshurst Place in Kent, England, by Lady Dorothy Percy, a daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland and sister of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland.Henry was a brother of...
(who wrote the Invitation)
Of the seven, Danby and Compton were generally considered to be Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
, while the other five signatories were generally seen as Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
.