James II

1633-1701. The son of Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, brother of Charles II. First married to Anne Hyde (the daughter of chancellor Clarendon) with whom he had two daughters, Mary and Anne. After the death of his first wife he married Mary of Modena and had a son with her, James Francis Edward.

Catholic since 1668. Succeeded his brother on the English (and Scottish) throne in 1685. Had to leave England after his policies of promoting Catholics in 1688 in the so-called Glorious Revolution. He fled to Ireland where after a series of defeats against the troops of William of Orange, most famously at the Siege of Derry and at the Battle of the Boyne, he finally left for the continent. He lived in French exile until his death. His claim to the English and Scottish throne was supported by Jacobites.