By the end of the 1600's, what differences had emerged beween the governments of England and France? Why did

Question

By the end of the 1600's, what differences had emerged beween the governments of England and France? Why did each country develop as it did?

Answer 1

This is a good question. Huge difference.
France was in a period of "Absolute" monarchy under Louis XIV "the Sun King" who was arguably the quintessential total ruler. He never called the Estates General, the French equivalent of parliament. 'He' ruled - pure and simple.
In England the question of "Divine Right" of kings to rule was settled rather demonstrably when Charles I was beheaded at the end of January 1649. England had a tradition of limited kingship dating back to the Magna Carta in 1215 and the first Parliament at the time of Simon de Montfort in ~1265. The English Civil War of the 1640s between the forces of Parliament and the Royalists who supported King Charles clearly decided the fact that the English upper middle class would not knuckle under to one man rule. Even strong kings such as Henry VIII had to abide the laws of England and not simply rule arbitrarily.
In 1688 high placed English nobles were able to discard a king they did not want, James II who was catholic, and simply invite the king's son in law, William of Orange, who was a Dutchman, to be the new monarch. Having a foreigner as king was not a problem because Parliament still had most of the power.
Why did all this matter? Because absolute rulers are not always stellar individuals. There are no checks and balances. Ruinous policies are not debated. Louis XIV had a penchant for expensive wars. His successor Louis XV was less effective as a ruler and ran France into greater debt. Louis XVI and his wife paid the price in the French revolution which was essentially the lower and middle classes standing up and saying they had had enough of arbitrary one man rule and the financial ruin that went with it.

Answer 2

French kings still ruled by divine right

English kings occupied the throne because they had approval of the govering classes