6.4 A Limited Monarchy Timeline

By soalsmaan
  • Accession of James I

    Accession of James I

    James I's firm belief in the divine right of kings and his attempts to raise revenue through impositions (new customs duties) without Parliament's consent established the central conflict over the "power of the purse" that would plague the Stuart dynasty and ultimately strengthen Parliament's resolve. Image Site: resolve.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_I_of_England_Schloss_Ambras.jpg
  • The Petition of Right

    The Petition of Right

    Parliament forced Charles I to accept the document, which prohibited taxation without parliamentary consent, imprisonment without cause, and billeting troops in private homes. This was a step in asserting that the monarch was subject to the law and could not violate the property rights and liberties of the privileged classes.
    Image Site :https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairburn%27s_Edition_of_Magna_Charta_(1799%3F,_Answer_to_the_Petition_of_Right).jpg
  • Convening of the Long Parliament

    Convening of the Long Parliament

    Charles I was forced to recall Parliament to fund a war against the Scottish rebels. The Long Parliament immediately abolished the King's prerogative courts and passed the Triennial Act (requiring Parliament to be summoned every three years and forbidding its dissolution without its own consent), legally dismantling the King's independent power base and making Parliament a permanent fixture in government.
    Image Site: https://schoolhistory.co.uk/early-modern/the-long-parliament/
  • Execution of Charles I

    Execution of Charles I

    The execution of a king "as a public criminal" following the English Civil War was an act that shocked Europe. It shattered the traditional, divinely sanctioned concept of absolute monarchy and demonstrated that the monarch's rule was conditional on the consent of the political elite (Parliament).
    Image Site https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_I_execution,_and_execution_of_regicides_(detail).jpg
  • The Restoration of Charles II

    The Restoration of Charles II

    The return of the monarchy was a return to the political status quo of 1642: a hereditary monarch ruled with the support of a Parliament. The power struggles and concessions made by the King during the Civil War era (such as the abolition of prerogative courts) remained in effect, ensuring the restored monarchy's authority was already inherently limited. Image Site :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Restoration
  • The Glorious Revolution

    The Glorious Revolution

    The bloodless revolution saw James II (who sought to impose a Catholic-friendly, absolutist regime) overthrown by William III of Orange and his wife, Mary II, at Parliament's invitation. It established the core principle that the monarch ruled only by the consent of Parliament and not by divine right, setting the stage for a permanent constitutional shift.
    Image Site: https://historiamag.com/glor-revolution-neither/
  • The Bill of Rights

    The Bill of Rights

    William and Mary were required to recognize this document, confirming the principle of limited monarchy. It guaranteed the civil liberties of the privileged classes, solidified Parliament's control over the military and taxation, and declared that the King was subject to the law, not above it. This formal document is the constitutional foundation of the British limited monarchy. Image Site: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magna_Charta,_the_Bill_of_Rights;_with_the_Petition_of_Right.jpg