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King William III and Queen Mary II (1689 - 1702)
Family tree poster & books House of Orange Family Tree Detailed Tree FAQs
Name: King William III and Queen Mary II
Full Name: William Henry Stuart
Born: November 14, 1650 at William: The Hague, Netherlands;
Mary: St James Palace, London
Parents: William: William II of Orange and Mary Stuart;
Mary: James II and Anne Hyde
Relation to Elizabeth II: 2nd cousin 8 times removed
House of: Orange
Ascended to the throne: February 13, 1689 aged 38 years
Crowned: April 11, 1689 at Westminster Abbey, when William was 38 and Mary was 26
Married: William married Mary, daughter of James II
Children: Three stillborn
Died: March 8, 1702 at Kensington Palace (William), aged 51 years, 3 months, and 21 days
Buried at: Westminster
Reigned for: 13 years, and 21 days
Succeeded by: Mary's sister Anne
King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1688, the son of William II of Orange and Mary, daughter of Charles I. He was offered the English crown by the parliamentary opposition to James II. He invaded England in 1688 and in 1689 became joint sovereign with his wife, Mary II. He spent much of his reign campaigning, first in Ireland, where he defeated James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and later against the French in Flanders. He died childless and was succeeded by Mary's sister, Anne.
Born in the Hague, in the Netherlands, William was appointed stadtholder (chief magistrate) and captain-general of the Dutch forces in 1672 to resist the French invasion. He forced Louis XIV to make peace in 1678 and then concentrated on building up a European alliance against France. In 1677 he married his cousin Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, the future James II. When invited by both Whig and Tory leaders to take the crown from James, he landed with a small force at Torbay, Devon, on 5 November 1688. James fled to France, and his Scottish and Irish supporters were defeated, respectively, at the battles of Dunkeld in 1689 and the Boyne the following year.
Returning to Holland in 1693 William commanded the Dutch army in the Grand Alliance against Louis XIV during the War of the League of Augsburg. The Peace of Rijswijk (1697), which marked the end of this conflict, ranks as William's greatest diplomatic achievement. As King of England, William was generally unpopular, though widely respected for his military and political adeptness. His reserve, his apparent neglect of his wife, his Dutch favourites, and his use of English resources to save Holland from French domination alienated his new English subjects. He was hated by Irish Catholics for spearheading the English reconquest of Ireland, but is still revered by Northern Irish Protestants for his key victory at the Boyne.
King William III's Signature  | |
Quotes:‘The liberties of England and the Protestant religion I will maintain’ – William III (on landing in England to take the crown from Catholic James II)
’Dutch Billy’ – nickname for King William III
1689 | William and Mary become joint King and Queen. | 1689 | Parliament draws up the Declaration of Right detailing the unconstitutional acts of James II. | 1689 | Bill of Rights is passed by Parliament. It stipulates that no Catholic can succeed to the throne, and also limits the powers of the Royal prerogative. The King of Queen cannot withhold laws passed by Parliament or levy taxes without Parliamentary consent. | 1689 | Jacobite Highlanders rise in support of James but are defeated at Killiecranke. | 1689 | Catholic forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from France and lay siege to Londonderry. | 1690 | William defeats James and French troops at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. Scottish Jacobites defeated at Haughs of Cromdale | 1690 | Anglo-Dutch naval force is defeated by the French at Beachy Head. | 1691 | The Treaty of Limerick allows Catholics in Ireland to exercise their religion freely, but severe penal laws soon follow. | 1691 | William offers the Scottish Highlanders a pardon for the Jacobite uprising if they sign allegiance him | 1692 | Glencoe Massacre. MacDonalds are killed by Campbells for not signing the oath of allegiance | 1694 | Bank of England founded by William Paterson | 1694 | Death of Mary. William now rules alone. | 1697 | Peace of Ryswick ends the war with France. | 1697 | First Civil List Act passed | 1701 | The Act of Settlement establishes Hanoverian and Protestant succession to the throne. | 1701 | James II dies in exile in France. French king recognizes James II’s son James Edward (The Old Pretender) as “James III”. | 1701 | William forms grand alliance between England, Holland, and Austria to prevent the union of the French and Spanish crowns. | 1702 | William dies after a riding accident. Stuarts in exile toast 'the gentleman in black velvet' in the belief that his horse stumbled on a mole hill. |
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