William III of England

William III, also known as William of Orange, was sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland and four other Dutch provinces from 1672, and King of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702, ruling jointly with his wife Queen Mary II until her death in 1694. He was the son of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal, daughter of Charles I, and in 1677 he married his first cousin Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York. When Louis XIV of France attacked the Dutch Republic in 1672 William rose to power and devoted much of his career to resisting French expansion, and after his Catholic uncle James became king of England in 1685 and grew unpopular with Protestants, William invaded England with a Dutch force in 1688, landing at Brixham; James was deposed in what became known as the Glorious Revolution, and William and Mary were offered the crown jointly. During the Nine Years' War William was often abroad, leaving Mary to govern, and after her death he continued to rule until his own death in 1702, when he was succeeded by his sister-in-law Anne.