The navy's constitutional role in the Glorious Revolution

How much influence did the navy have during England's republican era and the Glorious Revolution?

It was politically significant, and its alignment with Parliament helped enable the transfer of power to William and Mary.

The fleet divided under Charles I but had undergone a major institutional transition by the reign of James II. Its support for Parliament as William and Mary were invited in was therefore unsurprising. The navy retained the 'Royal' title, unlike the British Army with its different constitutional inheritance after civil war and usurpation. The exchange connects maritime power to the political settlement of late-seventeenth-century England.