WILLIAM AND MARY

Prince William: a man of honesty,
Diligence, courage and true modesty.
He shunned popularity, eschewed fame,
And entertained no flatterers. The game
Of party politics he found absurd,
Contrived and wasteful. “Stately and reserved”
Was Evelyn’s judgement. Few could pretend
To any idea where it would end.
A new Rebellion? Heaven forfend!
The chances of peace, some felt, were remote.
“Ambition and faction feared,” John wrote.

For who was King? Had James ‘abdicated’?
Had he ‘deserted’? Had he ‘vacated’?
Could the ‘late’ King be brought to his senses?
Tories feared the awful consequences
Of abdication. ‘Incapable’, yes;
But ‘insane’? Well, no… A terrible mess

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