Restoration - James, Mary and William of Orange

Restoration - James, Mary and William of Orange

Oliver Cromwell's son was not as good as his father, that's why Charles II became king of England (restoration). He had been living in France and received a luxurious French education. When he came to England, no entertainment was allowed and theatres were closed, so he opened theatres and allowed ceremonies again. Since he had been living in France, when theatres were reopened, they were inspired by the French theatre. It didn't take place at daylight but it had to be very brief (3 acts) so that it could last the time of a candle. The stage was no longer in the middle of the theatre and there was a curtain dividing the actors and the audience. People agreed with him.
Since he knew it was not a good thing to stand up against the parliament, he signed the Act of Uniformity, which established that all those who wanted to take on public charges had to be Anglican. But since Charles II was Catholic in his heart and Catholicism was still common in England, he also introduced the Declaration of Indulgence, which abolished persecutions towards dissenters.

Charles II died childless, so the heir would be his brother James, who was strongly Catholic, so the parliament discussed the refusal of the king. Hence the parliament split into two factions: Tories and Whigs (the former cavaliers and Roundheads). The Tories wanted to avoid rejecting the king again, but Whigs didn't want James because he was Catholic. Eventually they accepted the king because he had two Anglican daughters who would succeed him to the throne.
James married Mary of Modena, who gave him a boy. The parliament sent James's family away and called his eldest daughter, Mary, married to the Dutch William of Orange. They were both Anglican. They ascended to the throne as joined monarchs (glorious revolution). It was called a revolution because the title was only inherited by blood tie, so Mary's husband had no right to become king. Glorious because it was pacific, bloodless. Ireland and Scotland didn't want this done to Stuarts (1689).
After the glorious revolution the parliament signed the Bill of Rights, a transcription of the petition of rights signed by Charles I, which pointed out the English Common Law and the Magna Carta.
The parliament also signed the act of settlement, which established the succession to the throne when both Mary and William would've died. After their death the throne would pass to Mary's younger sister, Anna. After her it would pass to the heirs of Sophia of Hannover, gone to Germany and married to a Hannover. It is a German branch of the Stuart family (James I).
This act also established that all English kings must be Anglican.
William and Mary died in 1701 and Anna succeeded them.

Elizabeth II Windsor is actually a Hannover, but changed her surname when, during WWII England declared war to Germany, she thought that it was inappropriate to keep a German surname.
The Stuarts took care of culture and science. The royal society is an association which takes care of scientific discoveries. Newton was a part of it.