King William III and Queen Mary II

Both were related directly to the English Royals; William via his mother, a daughter of King Charles I; she had married Dutch William II, Prince of Orange. William was born at The Hague on 4 November 1650, one week after the death of his father. He made his first visit to England in 1670, where he met his cousin, his future wife Mary, who was born at St. James´s Palace on 30 April 1662. They married in 1677 when she was 15 years old. When Mary´s father became King James II of England (VII of Scotland) in 1685, she became next in line, as long as her father didn´t get a son from his second wife, Mary of Modena. When she bore him a son, however, (who would succeed Catholic James) in June 1688, people and parliament were afraid that King James II would return the country to old Catholic days and invited William and Mary to replace him. They accepted, set over to England, and in April 1689 both were crowned as King William III and Queen Mary II. The couple didn´t have any surviving children. Queen Mary, who was more popular among the people than the King, died of smallpox on 28 December 1694 at Kensington Palace. King William got more and more trouble with his parliaments, and his reign may mark the transition from a personal government (as exercised by the early Stuarts) to parliamentary government (which was to come into full flower under the Hanoverians). He died on 8 March 1702 at Kensington Palace.

On the left, his signature as "Gulielmus R" in Latin (3 June 1690, on a document written in Latin) and as "William R" (11 June 1690).

Queen Mary´s signature on a document (7 July 1690).