Images(2)

Portrait of King William III (1650-1702)

Dateca. 1690

OriginEngland, London

MediumOil on panel

DimensionsFRAMED: 13" X 9 1/4"

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1933-479

DescriptionPortrait miniature of William III facing the viewer and gazing to the left. He wears a suit of armour and a neckcloth of Venetian gros point lace.Label TextWilliam of Orange was born in 1650 in The Hague, Netherlands and served as Stadtholder of several Dutch counties. In 1677, he visited England to marry his cousin, Princess Mary, and the couple moved back to Holland following the wedding. English Protestant elites called on William to oppose the rule of his Catholic uncle and father-in-law, James II, in 1688. William successfully dethroned James and ascended to the throne with Mary, and they established the first joint English monarchy as King William III and Queen Mary II.

During their reign, William and Mary accepted a Declaration of Rights that reaffirmed Parliament’s role and limited the power of the monarchy to protect from future abuses of sovereignty. In 1693, they granted a charter for the College of William and Mary, and William III became the namesake of Williamsburg upon its establishment in 1699.

This miniature is likely based on a portrait by Willem Wissing. James II sent Wissing to Holland to paint William and Mary, then the Prince and Princess of Orange, in 1685. The crown motif on the miniature's frame, however, likely indicates that this portrait was completed after William became the King of England in 1689.ProvenanceDates unknown, Mr. Thomas Mott Shaw (Boston, MA); ca. 1933, given to Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.; 1933-present, given to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.