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Leighton Library has 1689 First Edition of “The declaration of the Estates of the kingdom of Scotland, containing the claim of right, and the offer of the Crown to Their Majesties King William & Queen Mary”
Added at 10:28 on 13 February 2025
Leighton Library has a 1689 First Edition of “The declaration of the Estates of the kingdom of Scotland, containing the claim of right, and the offer of the Crown to Their Majesties King William and Queen Mary”. This came about as a consequence of William and Mary being proclaimed co-rulers of England #OnThisDay 13 February 1689.
In the Glorious Revolution of 1688, William of Orange had invaded England, failing to be successfully resisted by King James VII of Scotland, who was also King of England and Ireland as James II, who finally fled England on 23 December 1688. The Convention of the Scottish Estates on 4 April voted to remove James VII from office, drawing on George Buchanan's argument on the contractual nature of monarchy. And that same month then adopted the Claim of Right and the Article of Grievances, enumerating what they saw as the contemporary requirements of Scottish constitutional law. It also declared that, because of his actions in violation of these laws, James had forfeited the Scottish throne, and the convention proceeded to offer the crown on the basis of these documents to William and Mary, who accepted it on 11 May 1689, and were proclaimed King and Queen of the Scots as William II and Mary II
The Claim of Right, to this day, is one of the key documents of United Kingdom constitutional law and Scottish constitutional law.
