William III (1650-1702), Prince of
Orange, King of
England.
William began his life as an ordinary
Dutch prince.
History came to him in the form of a call from the English
Parliament: the
MPs of the time were highly frustrated at the attitude of King
James II (William's father-in-law), a
Catholic who tried to establish Catholic faith in the country. They begged William to help them unseat James, which he happily accepted, being an active supporter of
Protestantism. Besides, he had already defeated James in 1673, after the English king had tried to invade
the Netherlands with the help of
Louis XIV. William's forces landed in November of
1688 and kicked James' royal bottom in no time. James, suddenly realizing that people did not like him very much, accepted his exile in
France.
James made one attempt to regain the
crown, with the help of
France and
Ireland - but their troops were thoroughly spanked at the
Battle of the Boyne, ensuring total English control over Ireland in the process.
Now the Parliament decided to crown William (they had little choice, anyway), but they had learnt their lesson: in order to prevent any future trouble with the King (read: in order to lock up their supremacy over him), they passed a series of laws limiting his power and strengthening theirs, including the famous
Bill of Rights. These laws definitely suppressed royal prerogatives and established Parliament (with support of the
oligarchy) as the real centre of power.
William was a wise man and a good king, despite leading endless wars against
France and
Spain (the two major Catholic powers of the time). He died in
1702 from complications after being thrown from his
horse. In fifty-two years of life, he had shaped
Britain,
Ireland,
the Netherlands and had prevented a
French takeover of
Europe. Not bad for an ordinary Dutch prince.