On this day, a king unintentionally gave up his throne in a fit of rage. On December 11, 1688, one of the key moments of the Glorious Revolution occurred when King James II of England threw his Great Seal of the Realm into the Thames River. James was a very unpopular king, mostly because he was openly Catholic and because he made several attempts at crushing the power of Parliament and establishing himself as an absolute monarch. In June of 1688, seven English nobles invited James’ daughter Princess Mary and her husband the Dutch Prince William of Orange to come to England with an army and depose James. When William landed in England, James’ forces deserted, so James fled London and threw his seal in the Thames in frustration. By throwing away the symbol of his office, Parliament declared that James had effectively abdicated, and they recognized William and Mary as the new King and Queen of England.
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