Person    | Male  Born 4/11/1650  Died 8/3/1702

King William III (of Orange)

Categories: Race Issues, Royalty, Seriously Famous

Countries: Netherlands

Son of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary Stuart (daughter of Charles I). Born in The Hague. Married another grandchild of Charles I, Mary II (daughter of James II). William was formally invited by seven senior political men (the Immortal Seven), representing English Protestants, to invade Britain in order to replace the unpopular Catholic King James II. This Glorious Revolution went extremely well: William and his army landed on 5 November 1688 in Devon, James quickly fled to France and William and Mary were crowned joint monarchs on 11 April 1689. They converted the mansion of Nottingham House into Kensington Palace to serve as their home. By luck he was William III of both Orange and of England, though only the second king William of Scotland.

It's well-known that William died at Kensington Palace after being thrown by his horse tripping over a mole-hill. His delighted enemies, Jacobite adherents, subsequently toasted "the little gentleman in black velvet". Actually, all he suffered from that fall on 21 February was a broken collar-bone. He was recovering from that when a pulmonary fever got him.

Like the kings before him, he was governor of and invested in a company operating in the Atlantic slave trade.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
King William III (of Orange)

Commemorated ati

Anglo-Dutch friendship

We've not done well with this memorial. Can't explain the connection (assumi...

Read More

Austin Friars & the Queens

To commemorate the visit by Their Majesties Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Beat...

Read More

Greenwich Market

{Beneath the coat of arms of Greenwich Hospital:} Greenwich Market. In 1700 G...

Read More

Mosaics - William and Mary

GVLIELMVS.ET.MARIA.DEI.GRATIA. {On a modern label below:} William III and Ma...

Read More

Rotten Row

WIIIR Rotten Row - the king's old road, completed 1690. This ride originally ...

Read More

Show all 9

Other Subjects

Lady Byron

Lady Byron

Born as Anne Isabella Milbanke, sometimes known as Annabella, an heiress in her own right. Unusually well-educated. An unwise marriage to Lord Byron in January 1815 lasted only a year but did produ...

Person, Education, Friend / family, Race Issues

1 memorial
African National Congress

African National Congress

London headquarters of the African National Congress, 1978 - 1994 were at 28 Penton Street.

Group, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Africa

1 memorial
Bishop Beilby Porteus

Bishop Beilby Porteus

Born York. Bishop of London 1787 - 1809. The first senior church official to support the abolition of slavery. Died at Fulham Palace.

Person, Race Issues, Religion

1 memorial
Voltaire

Voltaire

Born in Pairs as Francois Marie Arouet. Adopted the name Voltaire aged 24. The traditional story is that the intolerance of Catholic France forced this free-thinker to escape to the land of liberty...

Person, Literature, Race Issues, Seriously Famous, France

1 memorial
Dr John Lettsom

Dr John Lettsom

Physician, philanthropist, abolitionist and entomologist. Born British Virgin Islands into a Quaker family. Aged 6 was sent to England to be educated. Came to London in 1766 to train at St Thomas' ...

Person, Medicine, Philanthropy, Race Issues, Virgin Islands

2 memorials