William III William of Orange (1650-1702) is a key figure in English history. ÂGrandson of Charles I and married to Mary eldest daughter of James II the pair became the object of protestant hopes after James lost the throne. ÂThough William was personally unpopular - his continental ties the source of suspicion and resentment - Tony Claydon argues that William was key to solving the chronic instability of seventeenth-century Britain and Ireland. Â It took someone with a European vision and foreign experience of handling a free political system to end the stand-off between ruler and people that had marred Stuart history. ÂClaydon takes a thematic approach to investigate all these aspects in their wider context and presents William as the crucial factor in Britain's emergence as a world power and asÂa model of open and participatory government. Language: English