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England's road to parliamentary democracy has been a long and winding one, with plenty of rocks along the path.

And yet it is the liberties and curtailments of royal power from over 800 years ago that echo through to today and have inspired countless others - not least the founding fathers of the USA - on their own journeys to freedom.

This is the story of King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta by his barons in 1215.

It is also the story of Simon de Montfort, rebelling against King Henry III and calling the "Model Parliament" - which is seem, today, as the first proper parliament in England's history.

Monarchs, thereafter, might not have liked that block on their power but it was here to stay (and would shape England's history for hundreds of years).

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