The Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II, had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1689. The battle was fought across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James's failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.
Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 11 July 1690, Jan van Huchtenburg
James II, King of England and Ireland, James VII of Scotland, 1685–1688, portrayed as head of the army c. 1685)
William III ("William of Orange"), King of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1689–1702, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, 1672–1702
The Battle of the Boyne, painted by Benjamin West in 1778
James VII and II was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland. His reign is now remembered primarily for conflicts over religious tolerance, but it also involved struggles over the principles of absolutism and the divine right of kings. His deposition ended a century of political and civil strife in England by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown.
Portrait by Peter Lely
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne, James's commander in France
James and Anne Hyde in the 1660s, by Sir Peter Lely
Wedding suit of James II, 1673, in the Victoria and Albert Museum