He was both loved and hated, glorified and reviled, but like many other great historical characters he left a long and important legacy. Sometimes known as King Billy, William III of Orange was grandson of the much-loved William I in whose honour the Dutch national anthem, "het Wilhelmus" was written. But Billy was a horse of a different colour.....and as the 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI show jumping series arrives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, this week his impact is still in evidence....
He was born in The Hague on 4 November 1650 in a time of great strain for his mother, Mary Stuart. Her husband Prince William II of Orange had died just one week earlier of smallpox, and only 12 months had passed since her own father, King Charles I of England, had been publicly executed in London. On top of all that, the establishment of the English Republic was condemning her beloved brother Charles II to a life of perilous exile. As a small boy, every time William was held at the window of the Binnenhof the people of The Hague cheered. They loved their Prince, but hard-line Republicans had seized power and Johann de Witt collaborated with England's Oliver Cromwell to prevent the young Prince from becoming Stadholder and Captain-General - a role traditionally held by his family.
William received an excellent education and became a fine horseman but found himself alone at the age of 10 when his mother died suddenly after returning to London where her brother had been restored to the English throne in 1660. De Witt, a great enemy of William's father, took the opportunity to further undermine him but already this boy was wise beyond his years. A consummate politician, he ingratiated himself with De Witt as he grew older and when France invaded the Dutch Republic in 1672 William, aged 22, was ready to take advantage of de Witt's demise and came to the rescue of his country.
The jury is still out on whether he was a great general. When he died in 1702 most contemporaries considered him one of the great soldiers of his day but later generations have questioned that. His personal courage, exceptional organisational skills and dedication to his men however was never in doubt. At the Battle of Neerwinden in 1693 he led his troops in ten separate charges again Louis XIV's guards - he was a soldier's soldier, denying his own comfort to live and sleep among his men and, in return, was rewarded with great loyalty.
At the age of 27 he married his 15-year old first cousin Princess Mary who was next in line for the crown held by her father King James II of England. Initially it was not a happy union and William maintained a long relationship with one of his wife's ladies-in-waiting, but Mary and William drew closer with time and, after his death, Mary's wedding ring and a lock of her hair were found pressed to his chest.
Under the convenient banner of the saviour of Protestantism he ousted his Catholic father-in-law in a bloodless coup to become William III of England, but he was forced to face a Catholic rebellion in Ireland led by the furious James II and, although he lost and drew more often than he won in battle, he will always be remembered for his famous victory at the Boyne in County Meath - an occasion still controversially celebrated with triumphal marches by The Orange Order in Northern Ireland in July every year.
One of the most striking images of this man is to be found in a mural on the gable wall of a Belfast home where King Billy's rearing grey charger strikes a pose and, in the end, it was a horse that would literally bring about his downfall. On 20 February 1702 William broke his collarbone when his mount stumbled in a mole-hill while riding out at Hampton Court. Complications set in, and he died a few weeks later. After his death, followers of James II used to toast "the little man in the velvet coat" - the tiny creature who succeeded in bringing down such a great statesman and leader.....
Despite the power and prestige that his reign as King of England brought about, William's heart never left The Netherlands. Everything he did was designed to secure the safety of his native land which he greatly loved and which, today, remembers him with pride. That is why this Friday afternoon as the stands begin to fill around the Rotterdam show jumping arena for the fourth leg of the 2007 Samsung Super League series, spectators will be sporting their national colour - and that colour is very definitely ORANGE.....
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