King William III (1650-1702), 1703 (engraving)

William III of England (1650-1702), commonly known as William of Orange and in Scotland as William II (informally as 'King Billy'), was a Dutch Prince of Orange. Baptised as William Henry, he was Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland, Overijssel and Utrecht in the Dutch Republic. He inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II, who died from smallpox a week before his son's birth; his mother Mary was the daughter of King Charles I of England. William, as a Protestant, participated in several wars against King Louis XIV of France, who was a Catholic, becoming a champion of the faith. In 1677, he married his cousin Mary, daughter of his uncle James, the Duke of York. In 1688, William III invaded England at the behest of influential British political and religious leaders in what became known as the 'Glorious Revolution', to overthrow his uncle, who had become an unpopular and Catholic king.

His campaign was successful and he deposed his uncle. William ruled as joint sovereigns with his wife Mary until her death in 1694, after which he ruled alone. His reign marked the start of the transformation from the direct rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover.