Stadholder-King William III (1650-1702)
Britain and France launched a joint attack on the Republic in 1672. Popular pressure ensured that William III (1650-1702) was given the same powers as his forebears.
He succeeded in turning the tide of war, and his military victories strengthened his position as stadholder.
William III strove to achieve a balance of power in Europe and spent the rest of his life fighting French ambitions on the continent. He helped cement successful alliances against France in a number of wars.
‘Glorious revolution’
In 1677 Prince William III married his British cousin, also called Mary Stuart, daughter of the Catholic King James II. As time wore on, the British became ever more convinced that the king’s religion threatened the country’s Protestant establishment.
To protect their position, they enlisted the help of William and Mary, who overthrew James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The following year, the couple were crowned King and Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The Stadholder-King died childless in 1702, just at the outbreak of another war with France. He was succeeded in Britain by his sister-in-law, Anne. In the Dutch Republic, his death ushered in the second stadholderless period, which (except in Friesland) lasted until 1747.