Posthumous son of Willem II, Sovereign Prince of Orange, and Henrietta Mary, daughter of <a href="/nations/uk/england/king_england/charles1.php">Charles I</a>, King of England and Scotland; upon his birth succeeded to his father's estates; restored the dominance of the House of Orange in the Republic of the United Provinces; was elected stadtholder in the provinces of Zeeland (1672) and Holland (1672); appointed Captain-General and Admiral-General (1672) of the confederate army and fleet to repeal the French invasion; elected hereditary stadtholder in Holland (1674), Zeeland (1674), Utrecht (1674), Gelderland (1675) Overijssel (1675); married (4/14 Nov 1677) his cousin Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York and Albany (future King <a href="/nations/uk/england/king_grbritain/james2.php">James II</a> of England); as a Protestant prince and grandson of Charles I, he was invited to land in England to defend the interests of the Protestant majority against the Roman Catholic King James II, his father-in-law; landed near Brixham in Torbay, Devonshire (5/15 Nov 1688), and entered London (18/28 Dec 1688); accepted the administration of the governments of England (28 Dec 1688/7 Jan 1689) and Scotland (after 10/20 Jan 1689); was offered and accepted the crowns of England (13/23 Feb 1689) and Scotland (11/21 May 1689) together with his wife as joint sovereigns; assented to An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown (Bill of Rights, 16/26 Dec 1689), which limited the power of monarchy in England in favor of Parliament assigned to control taxation and legislation; led the military campaign against James II in Ireland, which culminated in the Battle of the Boyne (1/11 Jul 1690) and the defeat of the former king; continued to rule as a sole sovereign after the death of <a href="/nations/uk/england/king_grbritain/mary2.php">Mary II</a> (28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695); was elected hereditary stadtholder of Drenthe (1696); assented to the Act of Settlement (1701) designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne of England; died as a result of complications from a fall whilst riding at Hampton Court.