King James II has a Protestant heir

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that this has been brought up before...

WI one of the sons of the future King James II of England (at this time Duke of York) by his wife Anne Hyde managed to survive to adulthood? The couple had four sons, so it's quite possible. Assuming that King Charles II would, at the behest of Parliament, order that the boy be raised Protestant (as James' daughters in OTL), I imagine that this would have some very interesting consequences.

Would the Exclusion Bill had been more successful, or would Parliament have tolerated a Catholic king, knowing that there was a Protestant heir in the near future? What affects would this have on the British constitutional system, assuming for a minute that the prospective heir managed to possess the good sense of his uncle and the family penchant for absolutism?

I'm curious to start a discussion on this.
 
I'm not an expert in this period, but I've done a little research because of a TL I want to tackle so here is my swing at your question.

I believe Charles II would have ensured that his nephew, would be raised a Protestant just like his nieces were in OTL.

I don't think the Exclusion Bill would have even materialized because while James II would have been Catholic, his heir would have been Protestant. The only thing that would have created a problem during James II reign was if his Protestant son would die young and without an heir or with an infant son.

If James II's Protestant son would have inherited, the effects of the Glorious Revolution would have taken longer to occur (if they occur at all). I believe Parliament would have continued to gain political power but at a slower place and not completely as it does now.
 
I don't think that Exclusion or anything too close crops up ITTL. A lot of people aren't going to be terribly happy about a Catholic king, but they suffered through a cryptocatholic monarch in Charles II with no clear heir save his brother, so I think that they can live with it as long as the boy (let's say that Charles survives, to give the kid a name) is brought up Protestant. Now, if he isn't or if there is serious question about Charles' upbringing, then things happen... A likely consequence is that Parliament agrees to back Charles as Prince of Wales, but in addition to an anglican upbringing they demand some greater degree of oversight for the nation. Charles and James acquiesce, but knowing the Stuarts this isn't going to last...
 
Assuming that James II keeps the throne, would England still get involved with the War of the Grand Alliance?
 
King James II

This could very well mean that James II never marries the Italian princess Mary of Modena.
 
This could very well mean that James II never marries the Italian princess Mary of Modena.

Well, while one of the reasons of their marriage was to secure a Catholic heir England, there is also the fact that the Este family was at that time firmly into the French sphere of influence. So, even if James already has a Protestant heir, she might be convinced to marry him only to keep French influence over the king. If not her, then probably Louis XIV would have suggested other bride who could fill this role.
 
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