William III of the Netherlands

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William III of the Netherlands.

| William III (Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk van Oranje-Nassau, anglicized: William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis of Orange-Nassau) (February 19, 1817 – November 23, 1890) was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.

Early life

William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and Queen Anna Paulowna, daughter of Tsar Paul I of all the Russians and Empress Maria Fyodorovna. In his early years, he served in the military.

He married his first cousin, Sophie, daughter of King William I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, in 1839. This marriage was unhappy and was characterized by struggles about their children. Sophie was a liberal intellectual, hating everything leaning toward dictatorship, such as the army. William was simpler, more conservative, and loved the military. He prohibited intellectual exercise at home, for which action Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who corresponded with Sophie, called him an uneducated farmer. (His extramarital enthusiasms, however, led the New York Times to call him "the greatest debauchee of the age".) Another cause of marital tension (and later political tension) was his capriciousness; he could rage against someone one day, and be extremely polite the next.

William loathed the 1848 constitutional changes initiated by his father (William II) and Johan Rudolf Thorbecke which "gave more power to the middel classes and made the government's ministers responsible to the Estates General and not to the King".[1] William II and Sophie saw them as key to the monarchy's survival in changing times. William himself saw them as useless limitations of royal power, and wished to govern like his grandfather, William I.

He tried to relinquish his right to the throne to his younger brother Prince Henry of the Netherlands, asking that "news of his abdication be made public."[2] His mother convinced him to cancel this action. The constitutional changes transformed Holland intio a democratic constitutional monarchy "[[peace|peacefully" at a time when "more violent revolution was sweeping through many European countries."[3] One year later (1849) William became King upon the death of his father. Constitutional changes included "direct elections to the Second Chamber and Municipal Councils by those who paid a certain amount of [[tax|taxes" and "introduction of the right of the Estates General to question ministers."[4]

Reign

King William III repeatedly contemplated abdicating as soon as his eldest son William, Prince of Orange turned eighteen. This occurred in 1858, but as William was uncomfortable making a decision he remained King. His first act was the inauguration of the parliamentary cabinet of Thorbecke, the liberal designer of the 1848 constitution, whom William loathed.

Silver 2½ Guilder Coin of William III, struck in 1857. The obverse Dutch inscription is WILLEM III KONING DER NED[ERLANDEN] G[ROOT] H[ERTOG] V[AN] LUXEMBURG or in English, "William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg." The reverse Dutch inscription is MUNT VAN HET KONINGRYK DER NEDERLANDEN, or in English, "Currency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands."

In 1849, William announced his intention, in honor of his father's memory, to "look after the army's needs and interests." However, parliament now controlled the purse strings and that very year a cost-cutting exercise led to a reduction in the number of soldiers. Hooker comments that the Dutch people have a history of "aversion to the military" and that "reductions in the military are popular with the public."[5]

When the Roman Catholic hierarchy of bishops was restored in 1853 a popular petition signed by 250,000 people opposed to restoration of the hierarchy was submitted to William, who expressed his sympathy with their opposition. Thorbecke resigned in protest. He then led the opposition until 1862, when William asked him to form a new government.<ref<Hooker, page 124.</ref> This term of Thorbecke premiership saw the abolition of slavery in the Dutch East Indies but when he tried to the system of "forced labour" used in Java members of his own party joined with the opposition and the bill failed to attract enough support.In 1957, William signed an Education bill that made it a duty for schools to instill "pupils with [[Christianity|Christian and social virtues." The Act also denied any state aid to church-related schools.[6]

In the first two decades of William's reign, he dismissed several cabinets and disbanded the States-General several times, installing royal cabinets which ruled briefly as there was no support in elected parliament. Between the first and second Thorbecke government there were six Prime Ministers, at least two of whom were in office for very short periods: Jacob van Zuylen van Nijevelt from March 14, 1861 to November 10 and his successor, Schelto van Heemstra from Novermber 10 1961 until February 1, 1862. In "both 1866 and 1867 he personally intervened in the elections and in the disputes between parliament and the cabinet, with the purpose of keeping his cabinet in place." He even appealed "directly to the electorate with a manifesto printed in the national colors."[7]

He tried to sell the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1867. The attempt nearly caused a war between Prussia and France, and helped make Luxembourg a fully-independent country.

The King was popular with the ordinary people, presenting himself as a cordial man. This was a prosperous time for the nations as maritime trade was "rejuvenated" and government spending was reduced.[8] New canals were built and there was a "concerted effort" to extend the railroad system.[9]

In 1877, Queen Sophie died and years of war in the palace came to an end. In 1879, King William decided to marry Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a small German principality. Some politicians were quite angry, as she was 41 years the king's junior. Emma showed herself, however, as a cordial woman; and when William asked permission from parliament, this was easily granted and the couple were quickly married. She was not his first choice. He had previously been rejected by her sister, Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont, as well as Princess Thyra of Denmark, a sister of England's Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra) and of Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia.

Emma had a relieving influence on William's capricious personality and the marriage was extremely happy. The last decade was without any doubt the best of his reign. In 1880, Wilhelmina was born. She became heiress in 1884 after the death of the last remaining son from William's first marriage. Many potential heirs had died between 1878 and 1884.

King William became seriously ill in 1887. He died in 1890. Because Wilhelmina had not yet reached adulthood, Emma became Queen-Regent for her daughter. She would remain Queen-Regent until Wilhelmina's eighteenth birthday in 1898. Because the Luxembourg Grand Duchy could only be inherited through the male line at the time, under Salic law, it went to Adolphe, the former Duke of Nassau. His daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter would reign successively so that Holland had a female Head of State throughout the next century and into the twenty-first century.

Ancestry

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. William IV, Prince of Orange
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. William V, Prince of Orange
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Anne, Princess Royal
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. William I of the Netherlands
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Prince Augustus William of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Wilhelmina of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. William II of the Netherlands
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Prince Augustus William of Prussia (= 18)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Frederick William II of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (= 19)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Wilhelmine of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Caroline of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. William III of the Netherlands
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Peter III of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Anna Petrovna of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Paul I of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Catherine II of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Anna Pavlovna of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Maria Augusta Anna of Thurn and Taxis
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Friedrich Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 


Legacy

William III was never happy with his role as a constitutional monarch and endangered the monarchy itself with his constant political interference "created tensions in Dutch public life."[10] His daughter was more content with her constitutional role, advising from behind the scenes, as did her own daughter. Perhaps William's greatest contribution to his people was as father, grandfather and great-grandfather of their next three female monarchs. These women came to represent the values and ideals of the Dutch people and led them through two World Wars, as well as the dismantling of the Dutch colonial empire. Blom writes that both Wilhelmina and Juliana "in different ways - knew how to embody the unity of the Dutch nation."[11] Less interested in the military or in exercising political power, they gave moral leadership to their nation at a time when it was evolving a new role in the world. Dutch neutrality in [[World War I] and resistance to Third Reich occupation in World War II has informed its commitment to global peace-keeping, to defending human rights and to the European Union as a framework for ending war by ensuring that all Europe's citizens are treated with equity and enjoy a reasonable living standard.


Children

Of William III's children, only three reached adulthood, two sons from his marriage to Queen Sophie and one daughter from his marriage to Queen Emma:

  • Prince Willem of the NetherlandsWillem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik]] (1840-1879). Heir to the Throne from 1849 till his death.
  • Prince Maurice of the Netherlands|Willem Frederik Maurits Alexander Hendrik Karel]] (1843-1850).
  • Alexander, Prince of Orange (1851-1884). Heir to the Throne from 1879 till his death.
  • Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880 - 1962). Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 - 1948.


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Blom, J.C.H. and Emiel Lamberts. 1998. History of the Low Countries. New York, NY: Berghahn Books. ISBN 9781571810847
  • Boulay de La Meurthe, Laure, and Françoise Jaudel. 1984. There are still kings: the ten royal families of Europe. New York: C.N. Potter.ISBN 9780517548387
  • Hindley, Geoffrey. 2000. The royal families of Europe. New York: Carroll & Graf.ISBN 9780786708284
  • Hooker, Mark T. 1999. The history of Holland. The Greenwood histories of the modern nations. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.ISBN 9780313306587
  • Mijers, Esther, and David Onnekink. 2007. Redefining William III: the impact of the king-stadholder in international context. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.

Credits

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  1. Hooker, page 123.
  2. Hooker, page 123
  3. Hooker, page 123.
  4. Hooker, page 124.
  5. Hooker, page 180.
  6. Hooker, page 127.
  7. Blom, page 403.
  8. Hookeer, 124.
  9. Blom, page 403.
  10. Blom, page 438.
  11. Blom, page 439