Historical
and Commemorative Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
WILLIAM III DASSIER, Jean: England, 1731, Bronze, 41 mm William III (1650-1702), King of England Scotland and
Ireland (1689-1702) was the son of
William II, Prince of Orange and Mary
Henrietta,
daughter of Charles I. Royal authority was limited during William's
minority, but the crisis engendered by a combined French and English assault
on the United Provinces of the Netherlands led to his appointment as Stadholder of the Netherlands and captain general in 1672. With aid from
Emperor Leopold I, William expelled the French. In 1677 he married Mary
(later Mary II), daughter of James II of England. Following the Glorious
Revolution in 1688, he and Mary, both strong Protestants, replaced the
Catholic James, finally defeating him in Ireland at the
Battle of the Boyne.
William and Mary ruled jointly until her death in 1694. During their reign
they accepted a Bill of Rights curbing royal power and restricting
succession of the throne to Protestants. In 1699, William organized the
alliance that was to defeat Louis XIV of France in the War of the Spanish
Succession. He was succeeded to the throne by Anne. (from Encyclopedia of
World History) LINK to
Medals of the Glorious Revolution by Benjamin Weiss LINK to portrait and biography of William III (from Wikipedia) LINK to History of the Period of William III (from World History at KMLA) |