v44_0550 - PRINCIPALITY OF ORANGE - WILLIAM-HENRY OF NASSAU Douzième d'écu

PRINCIPALITY OF ORANGE - WILLIAM-HENRY OF NASSAU

(1650-1702)

Guillaume-Henri (1650-1702) was France's hereditary enemy of Louis XIV. Posthumous son of William II of Orange and Marie Stuart, sister of Charles II and Jacques II, he married his cousin Marie (1662-1694). Prince of Orange at birth, he became Stadtholder of the Netherlands after the assassination of the Witt brothers in 1672. He succeeded his uncle and father-in-law, James II, as King of England in 1688 and reigned from first with his wife Marie until 1694, then alone from 1694 until his death in 1702.