# Canonical recap data for English Bill of Rights (1689)
# Source: https://recap.at/1689/english-bill-rights
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: english-bill-rights
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1689/english-bill-rights"
title: English Bill of Rights
aliases:
- Bill of Rights 1689
- English Bill of Rights
- 1689 Bill of Rights
subtitle: Parliament's declaration of rights after the Glorious Revolution established constitutional limits on monarchy and foundational protections that influenced democratic movements worldwide.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1689-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1689
decade: 1680
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: The Bill of Rights 1689 is an act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown. It remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law.
summaryLong: The Bill of Rights 1689 is an act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown. It remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law.
lede: In 1689, the English Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, a document that stripped the monarchy of unchecked power and enshrined protections for parliamentary authority and individual liberties. It emerged from the Glorious Revolution, which had just forced King James II from the throne and installed William III and Mary II in his place. This act became the foundation for constitutional monarchy in Britain and inspired similar protections in democracies worldwide.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Coat_of_arms_of_England_%281689%E2%80%931694%29.svg/1280px-Coat_of_arms_of_England_%281689%E2%80%931694%29.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Bill of Rights 1689"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Passage Date
  value: 16 December 1689
- label: Triggering Event
  value: Glorious Revolution and flight of James II in November 1688
- label: Key Restriction on Monarchy
  value: Monarch could not suspend laws or levy taxes without parliamentary consent
- label: Parliamentary Power Affirmed
  value: Right to frequent parliaments and free speech within parliament established
- label: Number of Core Clauses
  value: 13 substantive clauses addressing crown powers and rights
- label: Monarchs Bound
  value: William III and Mary II required to assent to the Bill as condition of rule
- label: Religious Clause
  value: Excluded Catholics from succession and barred Catholic monarchs
- label: Longevity
  value: Remains statute law in the United Kingdom as of 2024
timeline:
- date: 1688-11-05
  title: William of Orange lands in England
  description: William III arrived at Torbay with Dutch forces, beginning the Glorious Revolution that would end James II's reign.
- date: 1688-12-11
  title: James II flees to France
  description: King James II abandoned England, leaving the throne vacant and forcing parliament to resolve the succession crisis.
- date: 1689-02-13
  title: William III and Mary II proclaimed joint monarchs
  description: Parliament declared William and Mary joint sovereigns, conditional on their acceptance of parliamentary supremacy.
- date: 1689-12-16
  title: Bill of Rights receives royal assent
  description: William III formally assented to the Bill of Rights, legally binding the monarchy to its terms and establishing a new constitutional order.
- date: 1689-12-16
  title: Parliamentary consent becomes law of succession
  description: The Bill of Rights established that parliament, not the crown alone, would determine the line of succession and set conditions on royal power.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689"
  title: English Bill of Rights 1689
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Bill of Rights 1689 fundamentally reordered the relationship between crown and parliament, establishing that monarchs could not rule by decree, suspend laws, or levy taxes without parliamentary consent. It codified parliamentary supremacy and individual rights protections that outlasted its original context by centuries, becoming a template for constitutional design across the English-speaking world.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- constitutional_reform
- regime_change
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: The 1689 Bill of Rights limited English royal power and established parliamentary supremacy, reshaping constitutional monarchy.
wikidataQid: Q219447
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260609025845/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-09
  label: English Bill of Rights 1689
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689"
