King James II (and VII of Scotland)

The second-oldest (surviving) son of King Charles I was born at St. James´s Palace on 14 October 1633. When his father was forced to escape from the parliamental troops, James (styled "Duke of York") went with him. In 1648 he managed to escape to Holland, and later he volunteered to serve in the French army, later in the Spanish. He returned to England with his brother in 1660, being married to Anne Hyde (daughter of the later Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Clarendon). Only two of their children survived, daughters Mary and Anne. The Duchess of York died in 1671, and James married again in 1673, the young Catholic Mary of Modena. This brought trouble to James, who had converted to Catholicism himself in 1670 already, as no member of the Royal family was allowed to belong to another than the Anglican church. As King Charles II didn´t have any legitimate children, his younger brother James was the next in line. The Parliament tried unsuccessful to exclude him from the succession, and James spent some time in Scotland. After Charles´ death in 1685, James succeeded to the throne and became King James II (VII). He made about the same mistakes which his father had committed, and when he tried to install the Roman Catholic church again (and rule without much help of the Parliament), some parliamental "rebels" invited William, Prince of Orange (grandson of King Charles I) and his wife Mary (James II´s daughter) to replace King James II. They accepted, and James was forced to escape in late 1688. He tried to get back to the throne almost immediately, but he was forced to leave England in the "Glory Revolution" (no blood was shed). He lived in exile in France and died at St. Germain on 6 September 1701.