William II (Orange)

Anthonis van Dyck : Prince Wilhelm II of Orange and Princess Maria Henrietta Stuart, oil on canvas, 1641

Gerrit van Honthorst : Prince Wilhelm II of Orange and Princess Maria Henrietta Stuart, oil on canvas, 1647

William II of Orange (born May 27, 1626 in The Hague ; † November 6, 1650 ibid) was a member of the House of Orange-Nassau and from 1647 governor of the United Netherlands. Wilhelm's ancestors also ruled the country together with the States General , an assembly of representatives from each of the United Provinces , but usually dominated by the richest and largest province of Holland .

Life

Wilhelm (II.) Was the son of Prince Friedrich Heinrich von Oranien and Countess Amalie zu Solms-Braunfels . On May 2, 1641, he married the Princess Royal Maria Henrietta Stuart (1631-1660), eldest daughter of King Charles I of England and Princess Henrietta Maria of France, in the royal chapel in Whitehall Palace in London . In 1642 Maria crossed to Holland with her mother and from 1644 began to take part in public life as the governor's daughter-in-law . After the death of his father on March 14, 1647, Wilhelm II became governor of the United Netherlands.

A son emerged from the joint relationship with Maria Henrietta Stuart:

• William III. (1650–1702), governor of the Netherlands and from 1689 in personal union King of England and Ireland and King of Scotland

⚭ 1677 his cousin Queen Maria II. (1662–1694)

Wilhelm II was drawn into the violent dispute with the province of Holland and the city of Amsterdam under their powerful regents Andries Bicker and Cornelis de Graeff , which culminated in Wilhelm throwing many of his opponents into prison. In 1648 he opposed the acceptance of the Peace of Westphalia , although it recognized the independence of the Netherlands . In secret negotiations with France, Wilhelm tried to place his national territory under a central government. In addition, he worked on the reinstatement of his brother-in-law Charles II on the throne of England .

After only three years of reign, Wilhelm II died of smallpox in 1650 . After his death there was no governor in Holland and four other provinces until 1672. His son, who was born eight days after his death, did not succeed as governor of the Netherlands until 1672. In 1689 he was at the side of Queen Maria II as Wilhelm III. King of England and Scotland.

See also

• List of governors in the Netherlands
• Family tree of the Kings of Scotland

literature

• Pieter Lodewijk Muller :  Wilhelm II (Governor General of the Netherlands) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 155-159.
• Uwe Schögl (Red.): Orange. 500 years of portraits of a dynasty from the portrait collection of the Austrian National Library, Vienna and the Dutch Royal Collection The Hague. (Exhibition from February 1 to March 19, 2002, Camineum of the Austrian National Library, Vienna). Austrian National Library et al., Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-01-000028-6 , pp. 68–71.

Web links

Commons : William II of Orange  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Friedrich Heinrich	Prince of Orange, Count of Vianden, Lord of Breda 1647–1650	William III.
Friedrich Heinrich	Governor of Holland and Zealand 1647–1650	William III. (from 1672)
Friedrich Heinrich	Count of Moers 1647–1650	Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg (guardianship) Wilhelm III. (from 1668)