ABSTRACT
T he turn of the century was marked by some notable events. Chief among these was the passing of the Act of Settlement (12 and 13 William III., c. 2), by which it was enacted “that whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown, shall joyn in communion with the Church of England as by Law established.” George, Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving child of the Princess Anne, had died 29th July 1700, at the age of eleven, an event which greatly raised the hopes of the Jacobites. There was some expectation that William III. would marry again. But, when he opened the new Parliament in 1701, he recommended that a Protestant succession should be otherwise secured; and by the Act of Settlement the Electress Sophia and her heirs were placed in the succession. This received the royal assent, 12th June.
