Months before William's invading army landed in Brixham in November 1688 his political spin-doctors had already embarked on a massive propaganda campaign.

William had commissioned a 'Declaration' setting out his reasons for invading England. Written by Dutch Grand Pensionary Caspar Fagel and William's friend, Gilbert Burnet, this manifesto called for the liberation of England from the rule of the Catholic King James II.

It was carefully embargoed right up until the moment William had landed. King James II was one of the last people to get hold of a copy, despite the efforts of his spies to obtain one before publication.

Printed first in the Netherlands, the pamphlet was reprinted in England on a printing press carried aboard one of the Prince's ships. A French version was also available and copies were distributed across Europe.

The pamphlet became one of the most successful and widely read pieces of propaganda of the seventeenth century.

In the Declaration, William did not blame James personally for the wrongs of the country, but pointed a finger at the King's Catholic friends and allies.

But he fuelled the rumour that the birth of the Prince of Wales had been staged, which left the way clear for him to intervene in English affairs.

His Declaration also called for a free Parliament as the only solution for the constitutional problems caused by a Catholic regime. No mention was made of any plan on William's part to seize the throne: all that came later.