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William II

b. 4/14 Nov 1650, The Hague, Netherlands
d. 8 /19 Mar 1702, London, England
Title: Administration of Affairs [1]
Term: 14/24 Jan 1689 - 16/26 Mar 1689
10/20 Jan 1689, was offered to assume "administration of all affairs both civil and military, the disposal of the public revenues and fortresses of the Kingdom of Scotland" in an address signed by the "Lords and Gentlemen of the Kingdom of Scotland" (passed at a meeting in Council Chamber, Whitehall, London 8/18 Jan 1689; signed 9/19 Jan 1689; dated 10/20 Jan 1689) [2][3]
14/24 Jan 1689, accepted the administration of civil and military affairs of Scotland, public meeting, St. James's Palace, London [2][3]
16/26 Mar 1689, proposed to return the authority to the Convention of Estates in a letter (dated 7/17 Mar 1689) submitted to the Convention on 16/26 Mar 1689; no further action taken by the Convention (see details) [4]
Title: Dei gratia Scotie Anglie Francie et Hibernie Rex et Regina, Fidei Defensores, etc. = By the grace of God, King and Queen of Scotland, England, France and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, etc. [5] (see other style in non-statutory use)
Term: 11/21 May 1689 - 28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695
Chronology: 11/21 Apr 1689, the crown of Scotland offered to William and Mary as joint sovereigns in "An Instrument of Government, for Settling the Crown and Regal Dignity of the Kingdom of Scotland Upon William III and Mary II, King and Queen of England, &c.", passed by the Convention of the Estates of Scotland, meeting of the Convention, Parliament House, Edinburgh [6]
13/23 Apr 1689, proclaimed by authority of the Convention of the Estates, pending acceptance of the crown, Edinburgh [7]
11/21 May 1689, accepted the crown of Scotland and took the coronation oath, public ceremony, Banqueting Hall, Whitehall, London (regnal years for Scotland counted from 11/21 Apr 1689) [8]
Title: Dei gratia Scotie Anglie Francie et Hibernie Rex, Fidei Defensor, etc. = By the grace of God, King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Term: 28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695 - 8/19 Mar 1702
Chronology: 28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695, sole exercise of the royal functions devolved upon the death of Queen Mary II; royal style changed accordingly
8/19 Mar 1702, died
Names/titles: Baptised: Willem Hendrik [English: William Henry]; Soeverein Prins van Oranje (Sovereign Prince of Orange) [from 4/14 Nov 1650]; stadhouder der Staten van Zeeland [from 22 Jun/2 Jul 1672]; stadhouder der Staten van Holland [from 23 Jun/ 3 Jul 1672]; Kapitein-Generaal en Admiraal-Generaal (Captain-General and Admiral-General) [from 28 Jun/8 Jul 1672]; erfstadhouder in Holland en Zeeland [from 23 Jan/2 Feb 1674]; erfstadhouder in Utrecht [from 16/26 Apr 1674]; erfstadhouder in Gelderland en Overijssel [from 20 Feb/2 Mar 1675]; erfstadhouder in Drenthe [from 3/13 Aug 1696]
Administration of Affairs (England) as William Henry, Prince of Orange [28 Dec 1688/7 Jan 1689 - 13/23 Feb 1689]
Dei gratia Anglie Francie et Hibernie Rex et Regina, Fidei Defensores, etc. = By the grace of God, King and Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, etc. as William III and Mary II [13/23 Feb 1689 - 11/21 May 1689]
Dei gratia Anglie Scotie Francie et Hibernie Rex et Regina, Fidei Defensores, etc. = By the grace of God, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, etc. as William III and Mary II [11/21 May 1689 - 28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695]
Dei gratia Anglie Scotie Francie et Hibernie Rex, Fidei Defensor, etc. = By the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc. as William III [28 Dec 1694/7 Jan 1695 - 8/19 Mar 1702]
Biography:
Posthumous son of Willem II, Sovereign Prince of Orange, and Henrietta Mary, daughter of Charles I, 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 James II 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 Mary II (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.
Biographical sources: "The Glorious Revolution of 1688," by Maurice Ashley (Hodder and Stoughton: London, 1966); "The Declaration of Rights," by Lois G. Schwoerer (The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore and London, 1981); "William III, The Stadholder-king: A Political Biography", by Wout Troost (Ashgate, 2005).

[1] Administering the civil and military affairs of the Kingdom of Scotland from 14/24 Jan 1689 to 11/21 May 1689, William did not use any particular style, signing as "William Henry, Prince of Orange".
[2] History of the Desertion, 120-122.
[3] Proceedings of the Estates in Scotland 1689-1690, 2:293-296.
[4] Proceedings of the Estates in Scotland 1689-1690, 1:5.
[5] Joint title for William II (III in England) and Mary II, who were offered the crown of Scotland on condition that "... the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and exercised by him the said King (i.e. William) in the names of the said King and Queen".
[6] Proceedings of the Estates in Scotland 1689-1690, 1:35.
[7] Proceedings of the Estates in Scotland 1689-1690, 1:36.
[8] Proceedings of the Estates in Scotland 1689-1690, 1:85-89.
Image: portrait of the Prince of Orange after Sir Peter Lely, 1677.
Last update: 08 May 2025
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