William iii of england biography
Home / Historical Figures / William iii of england biography
The flag of the Republic of Ireland includes the color orange, as well as white and green, and signifies the aspiration to peace between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Ireland. William was heartbroken by this and in tears begged Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt to allow Lord Zuylestein to stay. The reign of William's successor, Anne, was marked by attempts to extend the provisions of the Act of Settlement to Scotland.
On July 5 a special envoy of Charles, Lord Arlington, met with William in Nieuwerbrug, offering to make William Sovereign Prince of Holland if he would capitulate–whereas a stadtholder was a mere civil servant. William II had appointed his wife as guardian in his will; however, the document had remained unsigned and thus was void.
The Act of Settlement (1701) was designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne of Great Britain. They were immediately proclaimed King William III and Queen Mary II. On 11 Apr 1689 the Estates of Scotland approved the "Claim of Right" and declared that James II had "forfeited" the throne, which was therefore vacant, and also offered it to William and Mary.
The Act provided that, if Anne died without a child, the Estates could elect the next monarch from amongst the Protestant descendants of previous Scottish Kings, but could not choose the English successor unless various religious, political and economic conditions were met. Furthermore, the province of Holland abolished the very office of stadtholder and the four other provinces in March 1670 followed suit, establishing the so-called "Harmony." De Witt demanded an oath from each Hollandic regent (city council member) to uphold the Edict; all but one complied.
After the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeated a French fleet at La Hogue in 1692, the allies for a short period controlled the seas, and Ireland was conquered shortly thereafter. Without William III, the work of the Reformation would have been reversed and England could have been a satellite or puppet of Catholic France.
Architecture
William III led in the establishment and renovation of almost all the palaces and castles that he shared with his wife.
English: "William III, By the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 1695." The reverse shows the arms, clockwise from top, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, centered on William's personal arms of the House of Orange-Nassau.
Early offices
William II held, in official feudal order, the office of stadtholder of Guelders, Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, and Overijssel.
A direct result was that all pro-English elements, first of all Lord Zuylestein, were removed from William's company. William was greatly surprised when Charles tried to convert him to Catholicism, recommended as the ideal religion for absolutist kings. By fighting France, arguably the leading power in Europe at the time, he not only reconciled the Netherlands, but he also successfully became the King of England.
His education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses and some of English descent, including Walburg Howard (a stepdaughter of the future Countess of Chesterfield and half-sister of the future 1st Earl of Bellomont); from April 1656 a Calvinist preacher, Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the very puritan theologian Gisbertus Voetius, was chosen to daily instruct the prince in the state religion, Calvinism.
He intended to enforce Dutch servitude by means of arms. (Several Catholics with genealogically senior claims to Sophia were omitted.) The Act extended to England and Ireland, but not to Scotland, whose Estates had not been consulted before the selection of Sophia.
Also present was a page of honor, Hans Willem Bentinck. Today, some historians believe that William may have been directly complicit in the murder.
When James II acceded to the throne of Great Britain, his opponents, fearing the restoration of the Roman Catholic church in England, issued a "letter of invitation" (30 Jun 1688) to William offering him to deliver the nation from "Popery and Arbitrary Power." On 5 Nov 1688 William and his army landed at Torbay in Devon, and entered London on 18 Dec 1688.
After the death of either William or Mary, the other would continue to reign.
Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish Crowns following the Glorious Revolution, during which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed.