History
The English Bill of Rights (1689)
Quick fact
The Bill of Rights 1689 is one of the only documents in the UK that is still in force today, and it can never be fully repealed – making it a cornerstone of the UK's uncodified constitution.
Why this is interesting
You've heard of the 'Bill of Rights'—but did you know that the first one was actually an ultimatum to a king who had already fled the country?
Read the full explanation
Understanding The English Bill of Rights (1689)
In 1688, King James II of England was overthrown in the 'Glorious Revolution' – notably, almost without bloodshed. He was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband, the Dutch prince William of Orange. But before Parliament would allow them to take the throne, they insisted on a formal agreement. That agreement became the Bill of Rights. It was a list of conditions that the new monarchs had to accept, and it shifted the balance of power from the Crown to Parliament. For example, it stated that the king couldn't raise taxes or maintain an army without Parliament's approval, and that Parliament had to be called regularly to allow for free elections and free speech within its walls. In other words, the king no longer had absolute power; he had to rule with the consent of Parliament.
A deeper explanation
The deep mechanism at work is the formalization of 'parliamentary sovereignty' – the idea that Parliament is the highest legal authority. The Bill of Rights achieved this by stating that the crown could not suspend laws, impose taxes without Parliament's consent, or interfere with freedom of speech in Parliament. It also set out a series of 'rights' for citizens, such as the right to petition the monarch and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. These were not new rights, but rather explicit affirmations of traditional rights and privileges that the king had violated. The Bill also determined the line of succession to the throne, specifying that no Catholic could inherit the crown. This ensured a Protestant monarchy, which was a key political and religious concern of the time. The Bill's significance lies in its shift: power now derived from the law and Parliament, not from a divine right of kings. It effectively created a constitutional monarchy, and its principles were later echoed in the American Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Bill of Rights.