The English elite had just succeeded in ousting the Catholic King James, who had offended the protestant Church of England by aggressively promoting the Roman Catholic religion, in spite of laws that Parliament had passed. William of Orange and his wife Mary were crowned King and Queen of England (Mary was actually the daughter of the deposed King James II) in Westminster Abbey on April 11, 1689. As part of their oaths, the new King William III and Queen Mary were required to swear that they would obey the laws of Parliament. At this time, the Bill of Rights was read to both William and Mary. "We thankfully accept what you have offered us," William replied, agreeing to be subject to law and to be guided in his actions by the decisions of Parliament.
The Bill was formally passed through Parliament after the coronation. On December 16, 1689, the King and Queen gave it Royal Assent which represented the end of the concept of divine right of kings. The Bill of Rights was designed to control the power of kings and queens and to make them subject to laws passed by Parliament. This concession by the royal family has been called the "bloodless revolution" or the "glorious revolution." It was certainly an era for a more tolerant royal prerogative. William, for example, did not seek to oppress the supporters of the deposed and Catholic King James II, even as James tried as best he could to rally the Catholic forces within England, Scotland and Ireland against King William III.
The Bill of Rights was one of three very important laws made at this time.
The other two were the 1689 Toleration Act (which promoted religious toleration)
and the 1694 Triennial Act, which prevented the King from dissolving Parliament
at his will and held that general elections had to be held every three years.
The 1689 Bill of Rights
WHEREAS THE LORDS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL, AND COMMONS, ASSEMBLED AT WESTMINSTER, LAWFULLY, FULLY, AND FREELY REPRESENTING ALL THE ESTATES OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS REALM, DID UPON THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, IN 1689, PRESENT UNTO THEIR MAJESTIES THEN CALLED AND KNOWN BY THE NAMES AND STYLE OF WILLIAM AND MARY, PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF ORANGE, BEING PRESENT IN THEIR PROPER PERSONS, A CERTAIN DECLARATION IN WRITING, MADE BY THE SAID LORDS AND COMMONS, IN THE WORDS FOLLOWING:
Whereas the late King James the Second, by the assistance of divers evil counselors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom.
And whereas the said late King James II having abdicated the government, and the throne being thereby vacant, his highness the Prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of the lords spiritual and temporal, and divers principal persons of the commons) cause letters to be written to the lords spiritual and temporal, being protestants; and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs, and cinque-ports, for the choosing of such persons to represent them, as were of right to be sent to parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the 22 January, 1689 in order to make such an establishment, as that their religion, laws, and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted; upon which letters, elections have been accordingly made,
And thereupon the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid; do in the first place (as their ancestors in like cases have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare:
Having therefore an entire confidence, That his said highness the Prince of Orange will perfect the deliverance so far advanced by him, and will still preserve them from the violation of their rights, which they have here asserted, and from all other attempts upon their religion, rights, and liberties, the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, assembled at Westminster, do resolve, That William and Mary prince and princess of Orange, be, and be declared, King and Queen of England, France and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, to hold the crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to them the said prince and princess during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them; and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in, and executed by the said prince of Orange, in the names of the said prince and princess, during their joint lives; and after their deceases, the said crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of the said princess; and for default of such issue to the princess Anne of Denmark and the heirs of her body; and for default of such issue to the heirs of the said prince of Orange. And the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, do pray the said prince and princess to accept the same accordingly.
And that the oaths hereafter mentioned be taken by all persons of whom the oaths of allegiance and supremacy might be required by law, instead of them; and that the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy may be abrogated.
"I, A.B. do sincerely promise and swear, That I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance, to their Majesties, King William and Queen Mary: So help me God."Upon which their said Majesties did accept the crown and royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the resolution and desire of the said lords and commons contained in the said declaration."I, A.B. do swear, That I from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, That princes excommunicated or deprived by the pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare, That no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm, So help me God."
And thereupon their Majesties were pleased, that the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, being the two houses of parliament, should continue to sit, and with their Majesties royal concurrence make effectual provision for the settlement of the religion, laws and liberties of this kingdom, so that the same for the future might not be in danger again of being subverted; to which the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, did agree and proceed to act accordingly.
Now in pursuance of the premisses, the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in parliament assembled, for the ratifying, confirming and establishing the said declaration, and the articles, clauses, matters, and things therein contained, by the force of a law made in due form by authority of parliament, do pray that it may be declared and enacted; that all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and claimed in the said declaration are the true, ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties of the people of this kingdom, and so shall be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, and taken to be, and that all and every the particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and strictly holden and observed, as they are expressed in the said declaration; and all the officers and ministers whatsoever shall serve their Majesties and their successors according to the same in all times to come.
{WWLIA note: we have not reproduced two parts here. The first deals with the recognition that William III "did become, were, are, and of right ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our sovereign liege and lady, King and Queen of England; and the subsequent part of the 1689 Bill of Rights which dealt with the descent of the Crown to survivors of King William III and Mary.}Whereas it hath been found by experience, that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this protestant kingdom, to be governed by a popish prince, or by any King or Queen marrying a papist.
The said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, do further pray that it may be enacted, that all and every person and persons that is, are or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the see or church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the crown and government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominions belonging thereunto, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same. In all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be, and are hereby absolved of their allegiance. The said crown and government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by such person or persons, being protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons so reconciled, holding communion, or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead.
Every King and Queen of this realm, who at any time hereafter shall come to and succeed in the imperial crown of this kingdom, shall on the first day of the meeting of the first parliament, next after his or her coming to the crown, sitting his or her throne in the house of peers, in the presence of the lords and commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her, at the time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall first happen) make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirtieth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for the more effectual preserving the King's person and government, by disabling papists from sitting in either house of parliament. But if it shall happen, that such King or Queen, upon his or her succession to the crown of this realm, shall be under the age of twelve years, then every such King or Queen shall make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the said declaration at his or her coronation, or the first day of the meeting of the first parliament as aforesaid, which shall happen after such King or Queen shall have attained the said age of twelve years.
All which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted, and established by authority of this present parliament, and shall stand, remain, and be the law of this realm for ever; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted, and established accordingly.
It further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after this present session of parliament, no dispensation by "notwithstanding" of or to any statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed, but that the same shall be held void and of no effect, except a dispensation be allowed of in such a statute, and except in such cases as shall be specially provided for by one or more bill or bills to be passed during this present session of parliament.
Provided that no charter, or grant, or pardon, granted before the three and twentieth day of October [1689] shall be any ways impeached or invalidated by this act, but that the same shall be and remain of the same force and effect in law, and no other than as if this act had never been made.
The Petition exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers
Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto
in full Parliament.
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty,
Humbly show unto our Sovereign Lord the King, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
and Commons in Parliament assembles, that whereas it is declared and enacted
by a statute made in the time of the reign of King Edward I, commonly called
Stratutum de Tellagio non Concedendo, that no tallage or aid shall be laid or
levied by the king or his heirs in this realm, without the good will and assent
of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses, and other the
freemen of the commonalty of this realm; and by authority of parliament holden
in the five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared
and enacted, that from thenceforth no person should be compelled to make any
loans to the king against his will, because such loans were against reason and
the franchise of the land; and by other laws of this realm it is provided, that
none should be charged by any charge or imposition called a benevolence, nor
by such like charge; by which statutes before mentioned, and other the good
laws and statutes of this realm, your subjects have inherited this freedom,
that they should not be compelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, or
other like charge not set by common consent, in parliament.
II. Yet nevertheless of late divers commissions directed to sundry commissioners
in several counties, with instructions, have issued; by means whereof your people
have been in divers places assembled, and required to lend certain sums of money
unto your Majesty, and many of them, upon their refusal so to do, have had an
oath administered unto them not warrantable by the laws or statutes of this
realm, and have been constrained to become bound and make appearance and give
utterance before your Privy Council and in other places, and others of them
have been therefore imprisoned, confined, and sundry other ways molested and
disquieted; and divers other charges have been laid and levied upon your people
in several counties by lord lieutenants, deputy lieutenants, commissioners for
musters, justices of peace and others, by command or direction from your Majesty,
or your Privy Council, against the laws and free custom of the realm.
III. And whereas also by the statute called 'The Great Charter of the Liberties
of England,' it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned
or be disseized of his freehold or liberties, or his free customs, or be outlawed
or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers,
or by the law of the land.
IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it
was declared and enacted by authority of parliament, that no man, of what estate
or condition that he be, should be put out of his land or tenements, nor taken,
nor imprisoned, nor disinherited nor put to death without being brought to answer
by due process of law.
V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of the said statutes, and other the good
laws and statutes of your realm to that end provided, divers of your subjects
have of late been imprisoned without any cause showed; and when for their deliverance
they were brought before your justices by your Majesty's writs of habeas corpus,
there to undergo and receive as the court should order, and their keepers commanded
to certify the causes of their detainer, no cause was certified, but that they
were detained by your Majesty's special command, signified by the lords of your
Privy Council, and yet were returned back to several prisons, without being
charged with anything to which they might make answer according to the law.
VI. And whereas of late great companies of soldiers and mariners have been
dispersed into divers counties of the realm, and the inhabitants against their
wills have been compelled to receive them into their houses, and there to suffer
them to sojourn against the laws and customs of this realm, and to the great
grievance and vexation of the people. (PETITION OF RIGHT 1628:8)
VII. And whereas also by authority of parliament, in the five-and-twentieth
year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared and enacted, that no man
shall be forejudged of life or limb against the form of the Great Charter and
the law of the land; and by the said Great Charter and other the laws and statutes
of this your realm, no man ought to be adjudged to death but by the laws established
in this your realm, either by the customs of the same realm, or by acts of parliament:
and whereas no offender of what kind soever is exempted from the proceedings
to be used, and punishments to be inflicted by the laws and statutes of this
your realm; nevertheless of late time divers commissions under your Majesty's
great seal have issued forth, by which certain persons have been assigned and
appointed commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land,
according to the justice of martial law, against such soldiers or mariners,
or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery,
felony, mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanor whatsoever, and by such summary
course and order as is agreeable to martial law, and is used in armies in time
of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnation of such offenders, and them
to cause to be executed and put to death according to the law martial.
VIII. By pretext whereof some of your Majesty's subjects have been by some
of the said commissioners put to death, when and where, if by the laws and statutes
of the land they had deserved death, by the same laws and statutes also they
might, and by no other ought to have been judged and executed.
IX. And also sundry grievous offenders, by color thereof claiming an exemption,
have escaped the punishments due to them by the laws and statutes of this your
realm, by reason that divers of your officers and ministers of justice have
unjustly refused or forborne to proceed against such offenders according to
the same laws and statutes, upon pretense that the said offenders were punishable
only by martial law, and by authority of such commissions as aforesaid; which
commissions, and all other of like nature, are wholly and directly contrary
to the said laws and statutes of this your realm.
X. They do therefore humbly pray your most excellent Majesty, that no man
hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or
such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament; and that none
be called to make answer, or take such oath, or to give attendance, or be confined,
or otherwise molested or disquieted concerning the same or for refusal thereof;
and that no freeman, in any such manner as is before mentioned, be imprisoned
or detained; and that your Majesty would be pleased to remove the said soldiers
and mariners, and that your people may not be so burdened in time to come; and
that the aforesaid commissions, for proceeding by martial law, may be revoked
and annulled; and that hereafter no commissions of like nature may issue forth
to any person or persons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid, lest by color
of them any of your Majesty's subjects be destroyed or put to death contrary
to the laws and franchise of the land.
XI. All which they most humbly pray of your most excellent Majesty as their
rights and liberties, according to the laws and statutes of this realm; and
that your Majesty would also vouchsafe to declare, that the awards, doings,
and proceedings, to the prejudice of your people in any of the premises, shall
not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example; and that your Majesty would
be also graciously pleased, for the further comfort and safety of your people,
to declare your royal will and pleasure, that in the things aforesaid all your
officers and ministers shall serve you according to the laws and statutes of
this realm, as they tender the honor of your Majesty, and the prosperity of
this kingdom.