Customer Reviews

The life of the European William III, Prince of Orange - By: , 11 Jan 1999
This book covers the period of William III, Prince of Orange's life from his birth on 4th November 1650 at the Binnenhof, The Hague to his burial on April 12th, 1702in the Great Abbey Church of Westminster. The book sets the scene by dealing with his ancestors back to his great grandfather, William the Silent of Orange - Nassau, (Orange being a small regionin the south of France). His grandfather was assassinated by a Catholic lawyerin 1584, his dying words echoing down the centuries "My God, my God have mercy on me & this poor people". William III's friendship with William Bentick is described, as are his enemies & the Anglo-Dutch wars. His fight against Louis XIV continued after the initial invasion of Holland by Francein 1672. During this period William exhibited qualities of heroism & patriotism by not submitting to France. He was also a European, having an intimate knowledge of all her various peoples. The details leading to his marriage to Mary (James II's daughter, November 4th, 1677), & subsequent early lifein Holland (11 years) are described, as is the friction within their marriage by Williams acquaintance with his best friends (Bentinck) sister, Elizabeth Villiers. James II's main defects are explained,in that he was a very poor politician & an even worse judge of character, & his policy of persuing conversion of Englishmen to Catholicism failed. The prelude to the invasion of England by William & the glorious revolution is excellently documented. However, Mary was torn between her love for William & her father James, & stayed behindin Holland as William landed his invasion fleet at Brixham on the South Coast of England; it was a bloodless revolution. There are excellent chapters dedicated to his campaignin Ireland; Londonderry, landing at Carrickfergus, Boyne, Dublin & Limerick. His other campaignsin Europe & Scotland are also covered, as is the final portion of his reign (8 years a widower as Mary diedin 1694), relations with Scotland & his failing health.

This is an excellent book covering the complete life of William III & showing him to be the true defender of liberty for all throughout Europe. The last good biography of William III was by the Ulster historian Robbin the mid-1960's, thus this makes a welcome appearance as a current detailed account of his life. There are 207 pages,... The book also contains a good bibliography. It is an absolute essential addition to anyone's library.