Global InformationWilliam III of England information
| William III and II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait by Godfrey Kneller, c. 1690 | |||||
| King of England, Scotland, and Ireland | |||||
| Reign | 1689[a] – 8 March 1702 | ||||
| Coronation | 11 April 1689 | ||||
| Predecessor | James II & VII | ||||
| Successor | Anne | ||||
| Co-monarch | Mary II (1689–1694) | ||||
| Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel | |||||
| Reign | 4 July 1672 – 8 March 1702 | ||||
| Predecessor | First Stadtholderless Period | ||||
| Successor | Second Stadtholderless Period | ||||
| Prince of Orange | |||||
| Reign | 4 November 1650[b] – 8 March 1702 | ||||
| Predecessor | William II | ||||
| Successor | John William Friso (disputed[c]) | ||||
| Born | 4 November 1650 [NS: 14 November 1650][b] Binnenhof, The Hague, Dutch Republic | ||||
| Died | 8 March 1702 (aged 51) [NS: 19 March 1702] Kensington Palace, Middlesex, England | ||||
| Burial | 12 April 1702 Westminster Abbey, England | ||||
| Spouse |
Mary II of England
(m. 1677; died 1694) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Orange-Nassau | ||||
| Father | William II, Prince of Orange | ||||
| Mother | Mary, Princess Royal | ||||
| Religion | Protestant | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Military service | |||||
| Battles/wars |
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William III (William Henry; Dutch: Willem Hendrik; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702),[b] also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II.[2] He ruled Britain and Ireland alongside his wife, Queen Mary II, and their joint reign is known as that of William and Mary.
William was the only child of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal, the daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland. His father died a week before his birth, making William III the prince of Orange from birth. In 1677, he married his first cousin Mary, the eldest daughter of his maternal uncle James, Duke of York, the younger brother and later successor of King Charles II.
A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic French ruler Louis XIV in coalition with both Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded William as a champion of their faith. In 1685, his Catholic uncle and father-in-law, James, became king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. James's reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, who feared a revival of Catholicism. Supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, William invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. In 1688, he landed at the south-western English port of Brixham; James was deposed shortly afterward.
William's reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him and his wife to take power. During the early years of his reign, William was occupied abroad with the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), leaving Mary to govern Britain alone. She died in 1694. In 1696 the Jacobites, a faction loyal to the deposed James, plotted unsuccessfully to assassinate William and restore the deposed James to the throne. William's lack of children and the death in 1700 of his nephew the Duke of Gloucester, the son of his sister-in-law Anne, threatened the Protestant succession. The danger was averted by placing William and Mary's cousins, the Protestant Hanoverians, in line to the throne after Anne with the Act of Settlement 1701. Upon his death in 1702, William was succeeded in Britain by Anne and as titular Prince of Orange by his cousin John William Friso.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Treaty between Prussia and Orange-Nassau, Berlin, 1732". Heraldica (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Act of Union 1707, the Revolution in Scotland". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.