Who Was William III, Prince of Orange and King?

TL;DR

William III was born in early November 1650 in the Dutch Republic, eight days after his father William II, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, died of smallpox. Because the heir was an infant, the First Stadtholderless Period began, and William spent his youth fighting Johan de Witt's Statist faction for what he considered his birth right. His mother was Princess Mary, daughter of the executed King Charles I.

Transcript

The man known to history as King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland was born in early November 1650. His father was William II, Prince of the House of Orange and the foremost nobleman in the Dutch Republic. His mother was Princess Mary, whose father King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, had at the time of young William’s birth ... Read More

Key Insights

• William III was born in early November 1650 as the first and last child of William II of the House of Orange and Princess Mary, whose father King Charles I had been executed by the English parliament less than two years earlier at the end of the 1640s civil war.
• Two different birth dates exist for William because the Dutch Republic used the Gregorian Calendar, placing it on 14 November, while England still operated the Julian Calendar, placing it on 4 November. Studies give either date depending on British or Dutch perspective.
• The House of Orange functioned as a quasi-royal family in a republic. William the Silent, pivotal in leading the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule before his assassination in 1584, established the tradition of Orange princes holding the Stadtholdership of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht from the 1570s.
• The Principality of Orange was not in the Low Countries at all. It was a small lordship in Provence in southern France that William's ancestors had inherited over a century before his birth, despite the family's political base being the Dutch Republic.
• The First Stadtholderless Period began because William II died of smallpox eight days before his son's birth, leaving an infant who could not hold the office. Reclaiming what he deemed his birth right shaped much of William's early life.
• Control of the infant prince was itself a political contest. His mother Mary and grandmother Amalia clashed even over his name, Mary preferring Charles and Amalia insisting on William, with Amalia winning; guardianship was then split three ways by the supreme court.
• William was surrounded by people of British ancestry in youth through governesses appointed by his grandmother, including the Englishwoman Walburg Howard and the Scottish noblewoman Lady Anna Mackenzie, a fortunate upbringing for someone who would later rule England and Scotland.
• The Perpetual Edict of 1667, engineered by Johan de Witt, promised William the office of Captain General and a Council of State seat only at 23 in 1673, and barred any Captain General from becoming Stadtholder of any Dutch province.

Questions & Answers

Q: When was William III born and why are there two different dates?

William III was born in early November 1650, but sources give two dates. The Dutch Republic used the Gregorian Calendar in the seventeenth century, under which he was born on 14 November. England, the country he became closely associated with from the late 1680s onwards, still operated the Julian Calendar, under which his birth falls on 4 November. Studies of William therefore give different dates depending on whether they are written from a British or a Dutch perspective.

Q: Who were William III's parents?

His father was William II, Prince of the House of Orange and the foremost nobleman in the Dutch Republic, who became Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht in 1647 in succession to his own father Frederick Henry. His mother was Princess Mary, daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, who had been executed by the English parliament less than two years before William's birth. Mary was married to the fourteen year old William II under an alliance organised when she was just nine.

Q: What was the First Stadtholderless Period and why did it begin?

The First Stadtholderless Period began because William II, the Stadtholder, died from smallpox in the early winter of 1650, just eight days before his son was born. Since the heir was only an infant, he could not become Stadtholder, so the powerful position the House of Orange had held within the Dutch Republic was dramatically compromised and the office stood vacant. William's efforts to claim what he deemed to be his birth right shaped much of his early life.

Q: Why is the House of Orange called Orange if it ruled in the Netherlands?

The Principality of Orange was actually nowhere near the Low Countries. It was in fact a small lordship in Provence in southern France, which William's ancestors had inherited over a century before his birth. The family's actual political power lay in the Dutch Republic, where leading members of the House of Orange held the positions of Stadtholder, or steward, of the most important counties of the republic: Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, a tradition established from the 1570s onwards.

Q: Who raised William III as a child and what was he taught?

Although guardianship was formally divided between his mother Mary, his grandmother Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, William was for practical purposes raised primarily by Amalia. His mother spent much of his early years in Paris and Bruges and died of smallpox on Christmas Eve 1660, when William was ten. Governesses appointed by his grandmother included Walburg Howard, an Englishwoman, and Lady Anna Mackenzie, a Scottish noblewoman. He was raised in the Reformed faith as a committed Calvinist.

Q: Where was William III educated?

William began receiving parts of his education at the University of Leiden when he was just nine years old, and he remained there for seven years down to 1666. Leiden was the foremost university in the Dutch Republic during the early modern era and one of the most renowned educational institutions in Europe at the time. His tutors included religious scholars such as Cornelis Trigland and Constantijn Huygens, the latter a leading scholar of the Dutch Golden Age who had served as private secretary to both William's father and grandfather.

Q: Why did Johan de Witt oppose William III?

Johan de Witt led the republican or Statist faction, elements within the Dutch Republic that had always opposed what they perceived as the excessive and quasi-regal power of the Princes of Orange. Appointed Grand Pensionary in 1653, making him the most senior political figure in the state, de Witt worked in alliance with others such as his brother Cornelis to ensure William would never rise to the Stadtholdership of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht as his ancestors back to William the Silent had done.

Q: What did the Perpetual Edict of 1667 do to William III?

Johan de Witt had the states of the Dutch Republic pass the Perpetual Edict in 1667 to curb any possible ascent to major political power by William. It promised him the office of Captain General and admission to the Dutch Council of State, but only when he turned 23 in 1673, rather than on his eighteenth birthday in 1668 as the Orangists wished. Most importantly, it provided that the holder of the Captain General office could not become Stadtholder of any Dutch province. William's faction tried to work around it by offering him the position of First Noble of Zeeland.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• William III was born in early November 1650 to William II, Prince of the House of Orange and foremost nobleman in the Dutch Republic, and Princess Mary, daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, who had been executed by the English parliament less than two years earlier. Mary had married the fourteen year old William II after a marriage alliance arranged when she was nine.

• His birth date differs by country because the Dutch Republic used the Gregorian Calendar, dating it 14 November, while England still used the Julian Calendar, dating it 4 November. Eight days before that birth his father died of smallpox, so the infant could not become Stadtholder, ushering in the First Stadtholderless Period and making guardianship of his person a major political prize.

• Guardianship was divided by the supreme court of Holland and Zeeland between his mother Mary, his grandmother Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, though Amalia raised him in practice. Johan de Witt, Grand Pensionary from 1653, worked to keep him from the Stadtholdership, culminating in the Perpetual Edict of 1667 which barred the Captain General from holding that office.