In April 1685, James II ascended the English throne. An overt Catholic, James proved unpopular with his Protestant subjects and a group of nobles invited Dutch prince William of Orange to take the throne in the Glorious of 1688. James II fled to France. On 12 March 1689 James returned, a French fleed landing him at Kinsale in Ireland, and within two weeks he was in Dublin. On 14th June 1690 William led an army to Ireland and came face-to-face with the Jacobites along the banks of the Boyne near Drogheda. On 1 July the two sides met in a battle that would decide the fate of the crown of England.