How did limited government develop in England?

Answer 1

Power of the English Monarchs was limited by the provisions of the Magna Carta and other, similar charters, and by the parliament, which managed to assert more and more power over time. In addition to these internal limitations, the power of nearly all European Monarchies of the Middle Ages was limited to some degree by Ecclesiastical authorities such as the popes.

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Answer 2

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England was never in an absolute monarchy that's why they were in a limited monarchy and it was king Charles II that tried to dissolve the Parliament. that is why England became a limited monarchy.

Answer 3

It depends on what your definition of a "limited monarchy" is, as it has been an ongoing process over many centuries.

The Anglo-Saxon kings were never absolute monarchs in any case, since they were elected from among the Bretwalda, and always recognised that their powers were limited by the law and the powerful nobles. The Norman kings after 1066 were much more absolutist, and basically did whatever they wanted.

The first time the kings accepted any restriction on their powers was when King John put his seal on the Magna Carta in 1215, although that is basically a guarantee of the aristocracy's rights rather than those of the ordinary people.

However the Stuart kings, James VI and I, and Charles I were great believers in the Divine Right of Kings, which basically meant that since they got their throne by authority of God, no human authority could interfere with their decisions - so Charles tried to rule without a Parliament for many years (though this caused him problems because only Parliament could authorise legitimate taxes), which of course resulted in the Civil Wars of 1642-1648 and Charles I's execution in 1649, which rather limited the monarchy's powers. Charles II's restoration in 1660 put the monarchy back in control, but the Revolution of 1689 definitively decided that Parliament had the final say in deciding who could be king, when Parliament deposed James II and installed William and Mary as co-monarchs. Parliament further took the upper hand in 1702 when the Act of Succession defined exactly who could become monarch in future (Protestant heirs of the Electress Sophia of Hanover, who are not married to Catholics), which is the current succession rule. The last time a monarch rejected a law passed by Parliament was in about 1708 when Queen Anne refused to approve a law relating to the Scottish militia.

So overall, I'd say the best date for saying England became a limited monarchy would be 1689.