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On This Day - March 8th 1702
William III of England, also known as William of Orange, dies after being thrown from his horse.
William III of England was born on 14 November 1650, in The Hague, Netherlands. He became the Sovereign Prince of Orange at his birth because his father died of smallpox eight days before he was born. Known by many titles including William III of England, William II of Scotland and William of Orange, he was King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11 April 1689. As a Protestant, William participated in many wars against the powerful Roman Catholic King of France, Louis XIV.
After James II of England ascended the throne in 1685, the English feared that the king’s policies were directed too much towards restoring the power of the Roman Catholic church. In June 1688, a group of political figures known as the "Immortal Seven" secretly invited William to bring an army of liberation to England. William and a force of about 15,000 men landed at southwest England on 5 November 1688. James, his support base dissolved, was allowed to escape to France, and William had no wish to make him a martyr for Roman Catholicism. Whilst the Scottish parliament accepted the new rulers, Ireland, being mostly Catholic, remained loyal to the deposed king and had to be taken by force. In 1690 William led the army that defeated James and his Irish partisans at the Battle of the Boyne, and members of Parliament accepted him in order to restore their own power.
King William died on 8 March 1702, five days after a riding accident. Whilst riding in the Park at Hampton Court, his horse stumbled on a molehill and the King was thrown. As he left no heirs, the crown passed to Anne, second daughter of King James II of England.