King William III and II (also William of Orange) Grandson of the executed King Charles I, William was the Prince of Orange from his birth on 4 November 1650, and by 1672 held the offices of Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic. The Glorious Revolution In 1688, William’s father-in-law, King James II inherited the British throne from his father Charles II. James was not trusted by Protestant members of parliament, because they suspected him of being pro-French and pro-Catholic, as well as harbouring tendencies towards absolutism. When James produced a Catholic heir to the throne, powerful parliamentarians called for his removal and for the instalment of James’ Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange. William answered their call, and, upon his arrival, James fled, abdicating his throne to his eldest daughter and William’s wife, Mary. On 13 February 1689, William became the King of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was crowned King William III and II of England and Scotland, respectively (and was still widely known as William of Orange). His wife and co-monarch was Mary II of both countries. William reigned jointly with his wife until his death on 19 March 1702. The ascension of William and Mary is known as the Glorious Revolution. The new King spent the next few years fighting battles against James’ supporters, the Jacobites. On 1 July 1690, William defeated James at the battle of Boyne in Ireland, sending the deposed King into exile. In 1694, the Bank of England was established to help finance the considerable and mounting debt accrued by the Crown from William’s wars. That same year, Queen Mary dies, leaving her grief-stricken husband to rule on his own. William and Mary style When the famed Huguenot cabinet-maker Daniel Marot emigrated to Holland just after the 1685 Revocation of the Treaty of Nantes, which deprived Protestants of their religious and civil rights, he entered the service of William, at that time a Dutch Stadtholder as well as Prince of Orange. William’s patronage enabled Marot to bring to Holland the fully developed court style of Louis XIV. When William later came to the English throne from the House of Orange, he encouraged many Dutch artisans to follow him. He also summoned Marot to London, and, in 1694, appointed the Huguenot designer to be one of his royal architects and his Master of Works. The style of decorative arts that consequently came into vogue during William and his wife’s reign as King and Queen of Britain became known as William and Mary style. The most fashionable designer of the day was Gerrit Jensen (1667–1715), a Dutchman who specialised in cabinet-making and veneered furniture of all kinds. Jensen’s inspiration seems to have been the courtly French style also produced by Marot and master craftsman André Charles Boulle. In addition to these craftsmen, Huguenot refugees from France worked in the cabinet-makers’ and designers’ shops of London during this period. William was also a patron of Thomas Tompion, and some of Tompion’s royal commissions survive. For example, William may have commissioned and presented as a gift to William Lowndes the exquisite Tompion table clock known as the Selby Lowndes Tompion, made around 1693. Its magnificent architectural case was probably designed by Marot.[1] There is also the year-going longcase that Tompion made for the King around 1695 (now housed in Buckingham Palace as part of the Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 57800). Its features include burr walnut veneers, delicate engravings on the dial face, and a bold, ball-shaped central finial decorating the top of its case. King William III and II died in 1702, and Anne I (b. 1665) inherited the throne, becoming Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. She reigned from 1702 until her death in 1714. End Note [1] Garnier and Hollis 2018; Symonds 1940 and 1951; Taylor 2018, 33, Exhibit No. 108. References Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Symonds, R. W. 1940. Masterpices of English Furniture and Clocks. Symonds, R. W. 1951. Thomas Tompion: His life and Work 1639–1713. London: B.T. Battsford Ltd. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Image Credit King William III by Thomas Murray. Oil on canvas, circa 1691. NPG 5496 © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08041/King-William-III?LinkID=mp04834&role=sit&rNo=4
