William III
Dutch-born English king
William III was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1702, ruling jointly with his wife Mary II until her death in 1694.
A Dutch prince (William of Orange), he was invited by Protestant nobles to take the throne from the Catholic James II in the Glorious Revolution.
His reign established parliamentary supremacy and religious toleration for Protestants.
In Northern Ireland, "King Billy" remains a symbol of Protestant-Unionist identity, celebrated in annual Orange Order marches commemorating his victory at the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
- William of OrangeDutch-born English sovereign
- William and MaryJoint English monarchs, 1689
- English throneSeat of UK sovereignty
- Glorious RevolutionEngland's 1688 regime change
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
Tories · Hague · constitutional monarchy · liberal · Amsterdam · Dublin · Dutch Golden Age · Edinburgh · crown · London · Oliver Cromwell · Whig · Dutch · Protestant · Anglican Church · England · succession · invasion
- StadtholdersMaurice of Nassau
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, Declaration of Independence
- MonarchsAugustus, Charlemagne, Constantine, Elizabeth I, Genghis Khan
- Irish HistoryGreat Famine, Easter Rising, Irish nationalism, Irish War of Independence, Irish Civil War
- 1600s EuropeLouis XIV, Glorious Revolution, Peace of Westphalia, Versailles, William of Orange
- 17th century aristocracyduke, duchess, baron, count, countess
William IIILouis XIV
Jacobites · the Sun King · Mary I · Bloody Mary · Philip II of Spain
William IIICharles I
Stuart king beheaded 1649
Louis XIV · absolute monarch · divine right of kings · James I · tyranny