Dynastic security was a factor in Britain, as, indeed, it was in other countries. The House of Stuart had abdicated the throne when King James II (1633–1701) fled to France in 1688. However he and his son the "Old Pretender" (1688–1766) claimed to be the legitimate kings, and had the support of important elements in England, as well as King Louis XIV in France. The main issue was religion; the Stuarts had the support of Catholic Europe, while the Whigs in Britain were staunch opponents of Catholicism. The great majority of Tories refused to support the Jacobites publicly, although there were numerous quiet supporters. After the death of King William III (1702) and Queen Anne (1714), the succession went to the Protestant House of Hanover, starting with King George I in 1714. They were Germans who were not especially popular in Britain. The island nation was vulnerable only to a seaborne invasion, which the Jacobites plotted and attempted. The major attempts were the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745. Both failed to rally significant popular support, and the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 ending any realistic hope of a Stuart restoration. Historian Basil Williams says, "there was never any serious danger to the dynasty."