When was England last successfully invaded by a foreign power?
No, it wasn't 1066 – England was still to suffer invading armies and occupation after William's infamous conquering. BBC History Revealed presents the facts…
Contrary to popular belief, William the Conqueror was not the last person to successfully invade England – William of Orange was, in 1688.
We may like to portray the overthrow of James II in that year as a ‘Glorious Revolution’, but when the Dutch ruler William of Orange landed at Torbay on 5 November to replace him, it was at the head of a large and well-trained foreign army.
- Read more | How glorious was the Glorious Revolution?
William initially received little assistance from James’s English opponents and when he marched into London in December, he did so after ordering all the English troops that remained there to leave the capital. Dutch guards replaced English ones and, for 18 months, London was effectively under Dutch military occupation.
This article was taken from the October 2017 issue of BBC History Revealed magazine
Receive a Hardback copy of Populus by Guy de la Bédoyère when you subscribe for £24.99 every 6 issues.
- Includes a signed bookplate from the author
+ FREE HistoryExtra membership - worth £34.99!
