James was not born to be a King. He was
the third, but second surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta
Maria, born on 14 October 1633. Though he was styled as Duke of
York from birth, he was not formally created so until 1643. His
father was executed on 30 January 1649 but by then James
had already fled to The Hague. James later followed his
brother Charles to France, where he served in the…
