[141] After their accession in Great Britain in 1689, William and Mary used the titles "King and Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, etc. William allied with the French Huguenots, following the end of the second Religious War in France when they had troops to spare. The Prussian prince was chosen because he could act as a neutral party mediating between the two women, but also because as a possible heir he was interested in protecting the Orange family fortune, which Amalia feared Mary would squander. His parents had twelve children together, of whom William was the eldest; he had four younger brothers and seven younger sist… Charlotte's death was widely mourned. Upon his death in 1702, the king was succeeded in Britain by Anne and as titular Prince of Orange by his cousin, John William Friso. [73] He was allowed to leave for France in a second escape attempt on 23 December. [55] Even so, tensions remained: William remained suspicious of Louis, thinking that the French king desired "Universal Kingship" over Europe; Louis described William as "my mortal enemy" and saw him as an obnoxious warmonger. It is traditionally ascribed to Cardinal de Granvelle, who is said to have referred to William as "the silent one" sometime during the troubles of 1567. William then added the shield of Veere and Buren to his arms as shown in the third coat of arms below. He desired freedom of religion, and he also needed the support of the less radical Protestants and Catholics to reach his political goals. In October 1568, William responded by leading a large army into Brabant, but Alba carefully avoided a decisive confrontation, expecting the army to fall apart quickly. The Scottish Regent Moray had been shot 13 years earlier, being the first recorded firearm assassination. [38], Johan de Witt had been unable to function as Grand Pensionary after being wounded by an attempt on his life on 21 June. On 16 July, Zeeland offered the stadtholdership to William. [4] Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother and paternal grandmother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. She converted to Roman Catholicism and entered a convent in 1593. On 5 April, they offered a petition to Margaret of Parma, requesting an end to the persecution of Protestants. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. [16] These two battles are now considered to be the start of the Eighty Years' War. [66] William's intentions to invade were public knowledge by September 1688. Because of William's young age, Emperor Charles V, who was the overlord of most of these estates, served as regent until William was old enough to rule them himself. Genealogy profile for Adolph I William Duke of Nassau & Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolph I Wilhelm von Nassau-Weilburg, Herzog von Nassau, Großherzog zu Luxemburg (1817 - 1905) - Genealogy Genealogy for Adolph I Wilhelm von Nassau-Weilburg, Herzog von Nassau, Großherzog zu Luxemburg (1817 - 1905) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. [83] William and Mary were offered the Scottish Crown; they accepted on 11 May. Son of Willem I, Graf von Nassau-Dillenburg and Juliana, Gräfin zu Stolberg-Wernigerode There's a problem loading this menu right now. On 7 July, the inundations were complete and the further advance of the French army was effectively blocked. [16] That year, Zuylenstein began to work for Charles and induced William to write letters to his uncle asking him to help William become stadtholder someday. France's annexations in the Southern Netherlands and Germany (the Réunion policy) and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, caused a surge of Huguenot refugees to the Republic. [31] In view of the threat, the States of Gelderland wanted William to be appointed Captain-General of the Dutch States Army as soon as possible, despite his youth and inexperience.