ABSTRACT
As everybody knows, the attempt to substitute the Duke of Monmouth for James, as Charles’s heir, failed, but the later plan for supplanting James by William of Orange succeeded. Thus for the next sixty years or so England had a disputed succession; the King on the throne did not dare to pursue a strong policy through the fear that, if he did so, powerful interests would transfer their allegiance to the King over the water. It was not until fifteen years after the final defeat of the Jacobites in 1745 that it was possible for George III even to attempt to strengthen the monarchy.
