William II, Prince of Orange

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

Life

William ( II ) was the son of Frederick Henry of Orange and Countess Amalie of Solms- Braunfels. On May 2, 1641, he married into the royal chapel at Whitehall Palace in London, the Royal Princess Henrietta Mary Stuart ( 1631-1660 ), eldest daughter of King Charles I Stuart and Princess Henrietta Maria of France. In 1642, Maria began but already with her mother to Holland and started over from 1644 as a daughter of the governor participate in public life. From the joint compound showed a son:

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

Wilhelm II was drawn into the violent confrontation with the province of Holland and the city of Amsterdam under their powerful regent Andries Bicker and Cornelis de Graeff, which culminated in Wilhelm many of his opponents was thrown into prison. In 1648 he opposed the adoption of the Treaty of Westphalia, although it recognized the independence of the Netherlands. In secret negotiations with France, William tried to make its territory under a central government. In addition, he worked on the re-establishment of his brother Charles II to the throne of England.

After only three years reign of William II died in 1650 of smallpox. After his death, no governor in Holland and four other provinces was used until 1672. His son, who was born eight days after his death occurred, until in 1672 the successor as governor of the Netherlands. 1689 he was on the side of Queen Mary II, when William III. , King of England and Scotland.

Anthony van Dyck Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Palace of Whitehall Princess Royal Mary II of England List of stadtholders for the Low Countries provinces Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Counts of Vianden Stadtholder William IV, Lord of Egmont Johann V of Nassau-Vianden-Dietz Floris van Egmont René of Chalon Gillis van Berlaymont John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg Willem IV van den Bergh Adolf van Nieuwenaar Maurice, Prince of Orange William IV, Prince of Orange William V, Prince of Orange Wolfert VI of Borselen John III of Egmont Henry III of Nassau-Breda Antoine I. de Lalaing Louis of Praet Maximilian of Burgundy Joost de Soete Georg Schenck van Toutenburg Maximiliaan van Egmond Caspar de Robles George van Lalaing Francisco Verdugo Integrated Authority File
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