William III

1650-1702. King of Great Britain and Ireland 1689-1702.

Son to William II (Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Netherlands) and his wife Mary (the sister of Charles II and James II). Later married to James II oldest daughter, Mary. He was invited to England by seven English politicians (both Tories and Whigs) to become the English monarch. They sent a Letter of Invitation in June 1688, which was both unclear given that they didn’t define what was expected from him, as well as illegal since they acted against the reigning king. William III and his wife Mary II arrived in England on 5 November 1688.

They were offered to reign as joint monarchs.

Sources

• Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1997.
• "The Act of Settlement." royal.uk, https://www.royal.uk/william-and-mary.
• “William III (r. 1689-1702) and Mary II (r. 1689-1694)”, ‘royal.uk’, https://www.royal.uk/william-and-mary