Unnatural Daughters: Mary, Anne and the ‘Glorious Revolution’

A four-week online course exploring the role Princesses Mary and Anne played in the so-called 'Glorious Revolution of 1688.

On 5 November 1688, William of Orange landed in Brixham, Torbay, with 14,000 troops. Within seven weeks, his father-in-law, King James VII & II, would flee to France and William would usurp the rightful successor (James’s infant son) to be declared King of England, Ireland and Scotland, alongside his wife Mary. The constitution was rewritten and for centuries the episode was sold as a ‘Glorious Revolution’.

Yet, there is another tale to tell. A tale that played out in secret in the palaces of London and The Hague. A story that saw James’s own daughters, Mary and Anne, conspire to bring about their own father’s downfall. From accusing their own brother of being a changeling to coordinating plans upon William’s landing at Torbay – it is the story of the sisters who brought down a king.

• Lecture 1 – Children of State: A Schooling in Gossip

• Lecture 2 – 1688: Plots, Scandal and the Overthrow of James VII & II

• Lecture 3 – A ‘Glorious Revolution’?

• Lecture 4 – A Queen-in-Waiting

Delivery: The course consists of four pre-recorded video lectures and four live Q&As with the expert tutor. Participants also receive a reading list and course literature.

Accessibility: All videos have closed captions. If you have any additional access requirements, please get in touch via enquiries@histfest.org

YOUR TUTOR

Rebecca Rideal is a historian, award-winning podcast and TV producer, and the author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire and the forthcoming God's Throne. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Rebecca specialises in seventeenth-century history and has tutored at a range of institutions, including Oxford University, UCL and Stanford University in Oxford. She writes regularly for press, contributes to radio and television documentaries, and is the founder of the London-based history festival, HistFest.