Created joint sovereigns of the united British kingdoms by the Glorious Revolution in 1688, William and Mary became monarchs of England under constitutional restrictions that heralded modern parliamentary democracy. Parliament directly intervened in the succession to ensure that the crown would remain Protestant, banishing the Roman Catholic King James II into exile and replacing him with his daughter, Mary Stuart, and her husband, the Dutch

William, Prince of Orange, who was also Mary’s cousin, being himself a grandson of Charles I and a nephew of Charles II. After Mary’s death in 1694, William ruled alone until his death in 1702. His reign was dominated by war with France from 1689-97 during which William campaigned in Ireland and Flanders. Although Mary ruled whilst he…

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Citation: Seager, Nicholas. "Reign of King William III". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 February 2006; last revised 23 July 2007. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=655, accessed 21 November 2024.]