Although he was known for most of his adult life as the Duke of York, it was as a king that James II of England and VII of Scotland died in exile on 16 September 1701, even though he had long lost his throne.
Born to King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria on 14 October 1633, James was known as the Duke of York from birth and was formally given the title in 1644.
James and his elder brother, Charles, were nearly caught in battle during the First English Civil War, though managed to escape. Their father, King Charles, was executed in January 1649 and Royalist supporters rallied around the two brothers. They ended up escaping to the Continent where they would remain until the Restoration in 1660.
James, once again recognised as The Duke of York, married commoner Anne Hyde in secret in September 1660. Two of their daughters, Mary and Anne, survived to adulthood and both would go on to rule. Both James and Anne would convert to Roman Catholicism.
The Duke of York was recognised for his quick thinking and willingness to help during The Great Fire of London in 1666.
After Anne Hyde’s death, James remarried- he chose the Catholic Mary of Modena and they married in 1673.
King Charles II, James’s older brother, died in 1685 with no heir. Suddenly the long time Duke of York was monarch, reigning as King James II. As a Catholic, the new king pushed for religious tolerance, something that Parliament had no appetite for. He also attempted to build his own army. He was formally deposed in December 1688, and his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, were offered the throne.
The deposed King and his wife fled to France where they lived in exile. James died of a brain haemorrhage on 16 September 1701.
