Essay On The Bill Of Rights

The Bill of Rights was introduced to the Crown –William and Mary on the condition that they didn’t behave like James II; the exercise of their power and prerogative was slightly less. This was not however put in place to minimise the crowns importance but to give constitutional principle value e.g. free election of MPs, no excessive fines or bails etc.

One of the feature of the Bill of Rights which may have narrowed the power of the Crown was the clause that states that it was against the law to keep an army in times of peace without the consent of Parliament. This was put to the test after the treaty of Ryswick (1697) where this topic was hotly disputed- the government use ‘guards and garrisons’ to avoid the term ‘army’. William appeal to keep the Dutch foot guards resulted in a hostile demo but the Disbanding act of 1699 fixed the no. of troop to be kept on establishment. Such disputes illustrates the strain between the Crown and Parliament after the Revolution. The Monarch cannot change the law without parliamentary consent. The bill of rights was viewed as the start of the …show more content…
With the help of a small foreign army under the Dutch Stadholder, the Prince of Orange (William III) Parliament gained control of the country, dethroned James II with the support of much of the public, disinherited his heir, the Prince of Wales, passed the Bill of Rights and the Toleration Act, secured the special position of the Church of England, and created a constitutional monarchy in England in which there was a wholly new balance between Crown and Parliament - with Parliament supreme. Parliament remodelled the monarchy in England, Scotland and Ireland by putting William and Mary on the throne, as joint sovereigns, in place of James