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William III: From Prince of Orange to King of England
A detailed study in the struggle for power between seventeenth-century European ruling elites.
This book tells the story of William of Orange before he became the king of England, examining the system of clan family and patron-client relationships across Europe on which the prince’s political and diplomatic influences rested.
His skillful personal ability with the political elites in the Dutch Republic and England enabled his rise to power in the republic and later to the throne of England. Providing a full and detailed recounting of the dramatic clash between William’s regime with Louis XIV’s governance of France, the book does not shy away from engaging in historical controversies. The action that gives the story its impetus will be of equal interest to academics and general historians alike. Drawing from English and Dutch sources and historiography, the book is a major contribution to academic studies of this crucial historical figure of the second half of the seventeenth century.
This book tells the story of William of Orange before he became the king of England, examining the system of clan family and patron-client relationships across Europe on which the prince’s political and diplomatic influences rested.
His skillful personal ability with the political elites in the Dutch Republic and England enabled his rise to power in the republic and later to the throne of England. Providing a full and detailed recounting of the dramatic clash between William’s regime with Louis XIV’s governance of France, the book does not shy away from engaging in historical controversies. The action that gives the story its impetus will be of equal interest to academics and general historians alike. Drawing from English and Dutch sources and historiography, the book is a major contribution to academic studies of this crucial historical figure of the second half of the seventeenth century.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
576 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 10, 2021
William III, much has been said and written about it and yet you learn something new every time. William III’s new biography is certainly no exception. However, this biography is very well worked out. But for the people who do not now him : who was William III ?
Willem Hendrik van Orange was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau since birth. From 1672 he governed as stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, from 1675 also Gelre and Zutphen and Overijssel, and finally from 1696 also Drenthe, in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. From 1689 he reigned as King William III of England and Ireland. Coincidentally, his government number (III) was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he was known as William II. He is informally known as King Billy in Ireland and Scotland.
The book “William III: From Prince of Orange to King of England” tells the extensive life story of William III, his early years. His marriage to Mary II, his mistress: William had only one reputed mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, his life as stadtholder, Prince of Orange and King of England. The book goes beyond a superficial view. In the book we learn how it all worked. Many events pass by. William’s life in the Netherlands, it takes us through the different regions of the then Republic of the Seven provinces of the Netherlands. In this way we get to know his supporters, but also his opponents as the de Witt brothers. Of course the many wars are not missing in the book. It has therefore become a very complete biography. The author has researched it all very thoroughly and has not only used English sources, but also Dutch sources. Given the Dutch language, this will not always have been easy.
If we are talking about the Dutch language in the book: There are small errors in it. Zeeland cities are spelled differently and especially the river IJssel is misspelled as :Ijssel. This is probably because people abroad are not familiar with the Dutch IJ. It will probably only be noticed by Dutch readers. That’s really the only point of criticism, if you can call it criticism at all. Dutch is a difficult language.
The book is well taken care of, beautiful paper and the images used in the book are brilliant. The book is not always easy to read. This is due to the amount of information that you as a reader have to process. There is so much to learn from the book. You really have to take the time to read and remember it properly. Having a notebook near you is not an unnecessary luxury. This is for those who want to expand their knowledge.
In summary : A very complete biography of William III. The author has consulted both the English sources and the Dutch sources, something that does not occur too often. The periods are treated per chapter so the reader gets a good view of the events and of William himself. The book is definitely recommended for those who love of Royalty and history.
Willem Hendrik van Orange was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau since birth. From 1672 he governed as stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, from 1675 also Gelre and Zutphen and Overijssel, and finally from 1696 also Drenthe, in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. From 1689 he reigned as King William III of England and Ireland. Coincidentally, his government number (III) was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he was known as William II. He is informally known as King Billy in Ireland and Scotland.
The book “William III: From Prince of Orange to King of England” tells the extensive life story of William III, his early years. His marriage to Mary II, his mistress: William had only one reputed mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, his life as stadtholder, Prince of Orange and King of England. The book goes beyond a superficial view. In the book we learn how it all worked. Many events pass by. William’s life in the Netherlands, it takes us through the different regions of the then Republic of the Seven provinces of the Netherlands. In this way we get to know his supporters, but also his opponents as the de Witt brothers. Of course the many wars are not missing in the book. It has therefore become a very complete biography. The author has researched it all very thoroughly and has not only used English sources, but also Dutch sources. Given the Dutch language, this will not always have been easy.
If we are talking about the Dutch language in the book: There are small errors in it. Zeeland cities are spelled differently and especially the river IJssel is misspelled as :Ijssel. This is probably because people abroad are not familiar with the Dutch IJ. It will probably only be noticed by Dutch readers. That’s really the only point of criticism, if you can call it criticism at all. Dutch is a difficult language.
The book is well taken care of, beautiful paper and the images used in the book are brilliant. The book is not always easy to read. This is due to the amount of information that you as a reader have to process. There is so much to learn from the book. You really have to take the time to read and remember it properly. Having a notebook near you is not an unnecessary luxury. This is for those who want to expand their knowledge.
In summary : A very complete biography of William III. The author has consulted both the English sources and the Dutch sources, something that does not occur too often. The periods are treated per chapter so the reader gets a good view of the events and of William himself. The book is definitely recommended for those who love of Royalty and history.
March 28, 2025
This is a very matter-of-fact biography of one of the greater figures of English and Dutch history. It is fitting that the author is himself British-Dutch, with a good perspective in both countries and a command of both languages, and of French too it seems. Though William was of the House of Orange, Pull shows that he had intimate family ties within a larger Stuart-Orange-Nassau clan, extending to his Brandenburg and even somewhat to his Bourbon cousins. These dynastic links were real and had a very important impact on diplomacy between England, France, the Dutch Republic, Brandenburg, Sweden, the Holy Roman Empire, and beyond.
It seems that William III's destiny was to be the Protestant nemesis of Louis XIV of France. The two men were first cousins, once removed, but opposed in almost every way. William was Protestant, Louis Catholic. Louis sought to stamp out the Huguenots in his own country, and desired a restoration of a particular French-blend of Catholicism in Protestant countries, while William sought protection for the Protestant relgion. Louis sought hegemony over Europe for the sake of his 'gloire', William sought a balance of power. Louis loved war and was often successful at it, though he was only a devoted amateur. William desired in every way to be a professional, personally leading armies into battle, though finding very little battlefield success. It was the hour of Louis XIV's triumph in the 1672 invasion of the Dutch Republic that propelled William to the forefront of Dutch politics, and ever after he proved to be the French King's staunchest opponent.
William's relations with his Stuart uncles Charles II and James, Duke of York are the most interesting. In spite of England's previous three wars with the Dutch Republic, there was genuine intimacy between the nephew and his uncles, united by a dynastic marriage with James' daughter Mary in 1677. This propelled William even nearer to the English throne, as Charles lacked any legitimate heirs, and James lacked sons. William's marriage to Mary was likely an insurance policy against James' public and defiant conversion to Catholicism in 1673. William's influence dug ever deeper into English politics, especially with the Whig opposition, but it does not seem that he sought the throne for himself. He had an interesting if contradictory relationship with the Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegimiate son whom many saw as a fitting replacement for James, Duke of York. William gave Monmouth shelter in the Dutch Republic when he had been exiled from court, and when Charles died to be succeeded by his Catholic brother James, William seemed to give tacit approval of Monmouth's military preparations for his rebellion in 1685. Then again, he sent his uncle and father-in-law King James military support to help put down Monmouth's rebellion. Playing both sides, weakening both? The author fails to give any decisive clues to William's real position. But William was a cypher...
In any event, William's nearness to the English crown became an exceedingly important factor in English politics after Charles II and Monmouth were off the scene. From 1685-1688, with Louis XIV increasing tensions in Europe and James actively laying foundations for a re-catholization of Britain, William was a key player in opposing them both. Against Louis he helped to form the League of Augsburg as a defense against further French aggression into Germany, and against James he made contacts with the leading Whigs. 1688 was set to be the year of destiny, with Louis preparing to invade the Rhineland and James preparing to form a papist-packed Parliament. James' wife gave birth to a healthy boy in June that year, which demoted William and his wife Mary further down the line of succession, and opened the possibility of a renewed Catholic dynasty in the British Isles. That set in motion the events of the Glorious Revolution, long pondered.
(The Author seems to take a traditional protestant bias against James II. I am interested in reading Hillaire Belloc's biography of this unfortunate king, which is said to offer the Papist perspective of James' life and reign.)
The subtitle of the work (From Prince of Orange to King of England: A History 1650-1689) is too ambitious, as the narrative ends on November 5th, 1688 with William only just stepping off the boat at Torbay. He is not yet King of England, but I hope William Pull will write a second volume soon to cover the actual events of the Glorious Revolution and the reigns of William and Mary.
Given William's enduring reputation as a hero of both Protestant and Whig mythology, I was very eager to learn what made the Prince tick, what manner of man he was in private. But he seems a very ordinary, almost a boring figure. He was not much fond of amusement, with an almost non-existent sense of humor. Most monarchs in those days had very little private life, but anytime William wasn't engaging in European diplomacy or leading armies on campaign, he was hunting. He enjoyed a stable if unfruitful marriage with his cousin Mary, who proved to be a devoted and obedient wife, though he did keep at least one mistress. In the epilogue, Pull briefly discounts rumors of William being a sodomite, judging them to be from a sole and very unreliable source. Religiously, William was a Calvinist, famously making a wry joke about Predestination when landing at Torbay on November 5th, 1688. Publicly, all that he did was in defense of the Protestant religion, but Pull does not demonstrate that William was a very religious person at all in his private life. But William, if he had a deep inner thought life, was a public man, and did not often make those inner thoughts known, making him an enduring mystery.
Overall, I think William Pull did a good job with this book, but it was difficult to get my bearings, knowing little about the Dutch Republic and Germany in this time period. I think he could have done a better job giving the bigger picture, as he gives many details about political and dynastic intrigues without showing what is actually at stake. Pull is an engaging writer, but lacks the ability to synthesize so necessary for a historian. I felt like I was reading a very long Wikipedia article at times, assuming a neutral tone and counting sources without weighing them sufficiently. But Pull does a better job than I would be capable of, and I am grateful for a new biography of this important man. Overall, I would recommend.
It seems that William III's destiny was to be the Protestant nemesis of Louis XIV of France. The two men were first cousins, once removed, but opposed in almost every way. William was Protestant, Louis Catholic. Louis sought to stamp out the Huguenots in his own country, and desired a restoration of a particular French-blend of Catholicism in Protestant countries, while William sought protection for the Protestant relgion. Louis sought hegemony over Europe for the sake of his 'gloire', William sought a balance of power. Louis loved war and was often successful at it, though he was only a devoted amateur. William desired in every way to be a professional, personally leading armies into battle, though finding very little battlefield success. It was the hour of Louis XIV's triumph in the 1672 invasion of the Dutch Republic that propelled William to the forefront of Dutch politics, and ever after he proved to be the French King's staunchest opponent.
William's relations with his Stuart uncles Charles II and James, Duke of York are the most interesting. In spite of England's previous three wars with the Dutch Republic, there was genuine intimacy between the nephew and his uncles, united by a dynastic marriage with James' daughter Mary in 1677. This propelled William even nearer to the English throne, as Charles lacked any legitimate heirs, and James lacked sons. William's marriage to Mary was likely an insurance policy against James' public and defiant conversion to Catholicism in 1673. William's influence dug ever deeper into English politics, especially with the Whig opposition, but it does not seem that he sought the throne for himself. He had an interesting if contradictory relationship with the Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegimiate son whom many saw as a fitting replacement for James, Duke of York. William gave Monmouth shelter in the Dutch Republic when he had been exiled from court, and when Charles died to be succeeded by his Catholic brother James, William seemed to give tacit approval of Monmouth's military preparations for his rebellion in 1685. Then again, he sent his uncle and father-in-law King James military support to help put down Monmouth's rebellion. Playing both sides, weakening both? The author fails to give any decisive clues to William's real position. But William was a cypher...
In any event, William's nearness to the English crown became an exceedingly important factor in English politics after Charles II and Monmouth were off the scene. From 1685-1688, with Louis XIV increasing tensions in Europe and James actively laying foundations for a re-catholization of Britain, William was a key player in opposing them both. Against Louis he helped to form the League of Augsburg as a defense against further French aggression into Germany, and against James he made contacts with the leading Whigs. 1688 was set to be the year of destiny, with Louis preparing to invade the Rhineland and James preparing to form a papist-packed Parliament. James' wife gave birth to a healthy boy in June that year, which demoted William and his wife Mary further down the line of succession, and opened the possibility of a renewed Catholic dynasty in the British Isles. That set in motion the events of the Glorious Revolution, long pondered.
(The Author seems to take a traditional protestant bias against James II. I am interested in reading Hillaire Belloc's biography of this unfortunate king, which is said to offer the Papist perspective of James' life and reign.)
The subtitle of the work (From Prince of Orange to King of England: A History 1650-1689) is too ambitious, as the narrative ends on November 5th, 1688 with William only just stepping off the boat at Torbay. He is not yet King of England, but I hope William Pull will write a second volume soon to cover the actual events of the Glorious Revolution and the reigns of William and Mary.
Given William's enduring reputation as a hero of both Protestant and Whig mythology, I was very eager to learn what made the Prince tick, what manner of man he was in private. But he seems a very ordinary, almost a boring figure. He was not much fond of amusement, with an almost non-existent sense of humor. Most monarchs in those days had very little private life, but anytime William wasn't engaging in European diplomacy or leading armies on campaign, he was hunting. He enjoyed a stable if unfruitful marriage with his cousin Mary, who proved to be a devoted and obedient wife, though he did keep at least one mistress. In the epilogue, Pull briefly discounts rumors of William being a sodomite, judging them to be from a sole and very unreliable source. Religiously, William was a Calvinist, famously making a wry joke about Predestination when landing at Torbay on November 5th, 1688. Publicly, all that he did was in defense of the Protestant religion, but Pull does not demonstrate that William was a very religious person at all in his private life. But William, if he had a deep inner thought life, was a public man, and did not often make those inner thoughts known, making him an enduring mystery.
Overall, I think William Pull did a good job with this book, but it was difficult to get my bearings, knowing little about the Dutch Republic and Germany in this time period. I think he could have done a better job giving the bigger picture, as he gives many details about political and dynastic intrigues without showing what is actually at stake. Pull is an engaging writer, but lacks the ability to synthesize so necessary for a historian. I felt like I was reading a very long Wikipedia article at times, assuming a neutral tone and counting sources without weighing them sufficiently. But Pull does a better job than I would be capable of, and I am grateful for a new biography of this important man. Overall, I would recommend.
December 5, 2022
For someone with rudimentary knowledge of European history, this was a real struggle. Not even a map to show the location of Orange???
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews