Glorious Revolution

Timeline

1. 1688London and The Hague · Western EuropeJames II and Mary of Modena had a son, James Francis Edward, breaking the expectation that his Protestant eldest daughter Mary would succeed. After the Seven Bishops were acquitted, seven leading nobles including Danby and Shrewsbury wrote to William, asking him to lead an army to England to investigate the prince's birth and safeguard Parliament and Protestantism. William also needed approval from the Dutch States-General so as to win over England before the war against France.
2. 1688Torbay (Brixham) · DevonWilliam landed at Torbay with an army of Dutch, German, and English exiles, issuing a proclamation that he had come to defend Protestantism, a free Parliament, and to verify the prince's birth. James II marched west to confront him, but generals such as John Churchill and members of the royal family defected, and the royal army disintegrated. William controlled the line of advance without facing any major field battle and entered London in December.
3. 1688London to the Kentish coast · EnglandOn 11 December James II made his first attempt to flee, discarding the Great Seal, and was intercepted in Kent. William's side deliberately relaxed the guard. On the 23rd James fled again, crossing the sea to Louis XIV, and thereafter maintained an exiled court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Parliament was thus able to interpret his flight as an abandonment of the throne rather than having to pronounce a formal deposition.
4. 1689Westminster · LondonIn January 1689 the Convention Parliament assembled at Westminster, debating whether James's flight amounted to abdication, desertion of the throne, or grounds for deposition. It finally declared the throne vacant and offered the crown to William and Mary to rule jointly, presenting the Declaration of Rights as the condition of their accession. The two were crowned on 11 April. The Scottish Parliament separately completed its own settlement through the Claim of Right.