William III of England
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Modern political caricature, born, as we have seen, in France, may be considered to have had its cradle in Holland. The position of that country, and its greater degree of freedom, made it, in the seventeenth century, the general place of refuge to the political discontents of other lands, and especially to the French who fled from the tyranny of Louis XIV. It possessed at that time some of the most skilful artists and best engravers in Europe, and it became the central spot from which were launched a multitude of satirical prints against that monarch's policy, and against himself and his favourites and ministers. This was in a great measure the cause of the bitter hatred which Louis always displayed towards that country. He feared the caricatures of the Dutch more than their arms, and the pencil and graver of Romain de Hooghe were among the most effective weapons employed by William of Nassau."--History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art (1865) by Thomas Wright |
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William III & II (Template:Lang-nl; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702) was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange (Template:Lang-nl) over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland. By coincidence, his regnal number (III) was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy". In what became known as the "Glorious Revolution", on 5 November 1688 William invaded England in an action that ultimately deposed King James II & VII and won him the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland. In the British Isles, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death on 28 December 1694. The period of their joint reign is often referred to as "William and Mary".
A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith. Largely because of that reputation, William was able to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. William's victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order. His reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover.
In popular culture
William has been played on screen by Bernard Lee in the 1937 film The Black Tulip, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père, Henry Daniell in the 1945 film Captain Kidd, Olaf Hytten in the 1952 film Against All Flags, Alan Rowe in the 1969 BBC drama series The First Churchills, Laurence Olivier in the 1986 NBC TV mini-series Peter the Great, Thom Hoffman in the 1992 film Orlando, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, Corin Redgrave in the 1995 film England, My England, the story of the composer Henry Purcell, Jochum ten Haaf in the 2003 BBC miniseries Charles II: The Power & the Passion, Bernard Hill in the 2005 film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, and Russell Pate in the 2008 BBC film King Billy Above All.
See also
- Anglo-Dutch Wars
- British monarchs' family tree
- Constantijn Huygens, Jr. – secretary to William III
- List of James II deserters to William of Orange
