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Willem II
(1792—1849)

Born in 1792 in one of the darkest hours of the Dutch history, he went with his family into exile in 1794; with the first years spent in England and Prussia. In 1806 he was placed in the military academy in Berlin where he remained until 1808 when he went to Oxford to finalise his education. This was also done to placate the English who distrusted his father. A few years later he went with Wellington's army to Spain and the period spent here must be regarded as one of the happiest of his life. However, during this time efforts were made to marry him off to Princess Charlotte of Wales. They became engaged but Charlotte broke it off. After the defeat of Napoleon his father became the first King of The Netherlands and Willem, as Prince of Orange, became Crown Prince. However, at a state dinner he had to speak French as he was unable to speak Dutch. His first task was in Belgium with the British-Hanoverian forces and his presence here became important with the return of Napoleon. He was involved in the battles of Quatre Bras and at Waterloo where he was wounded. In 1816 he went to St. Petersburg and, on 9 February, married Grand Duchess Anna Paulowna, sister of Emperor Alexander I. This was a prestigious marriage which brought him in close touch with the most powerful men in Europe. Willem's parents received Anna very kindly in The Netherlands and at times she was a go-between for Willem and his father. Anna was also a good influence on her husband in other areas. The first years of their marriage were spent in Brussels where their eldest son was born. Although there was a strong bond of affection between Willem and his father, this did not prevent friction. For Willem the period until 1830 was very difficult because, as crown prince, he not only had a task in the army but was also approached frequently by French revolutionaries. His receiving them naturally caused affront to King Louis XVIII of France. On 25 August 1830 the people of Brussels started the revolution which was to make Belgium independent. At the time Willem was in The Hague to celebrate his father's birthday. Four days later, on his way to Brussels, he met a deputation. Later on there was another more important deputation but both had to be be sent on to his father. Trying to stop the decay, a proclamation was issued dividing The Netherlands and Belgium with Willem heading a temporary government. However, this had little impact as a day earlier the Belgians had declared themself independent from The Netherlands and the House of Orange. Willem went to London to attend a conference to decide the future of Belgium, but here he was used against his father by clever politicians like Palmerston and Talleyrand. They proposed a separate Belgium with Willem as King, expecting Willem to accept and his father to reject, which would make it easier to find a candidate more acceptable to France. This did happen and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, widower of Willem's one-time fianc‚ Charlotte of Wales, was selected and declared King of The Belgians. However, when King Willem I and Parliament then regarded the treaty in regards to the borders as unacceptable, Willem at the head of an army moved into Belgium. A French army prevented him from taking Brussels, even though with clever manoeuvres Willem had defeated two Belgian armies. It took until 1839 before peace was declared and Leopold I was accepted as king. Until 1839 there were also rumours about Willem's extramarital behaviour and a number of illegitimate children. What is certain is that he spent time with the more simple people and Catholic priests. It seems also certain that he involved himself with problems in Spain and may have given financial support to rebels in The Philippines as well as to the Spanish pretender, Don Carlos. In 1835 he took his two eldest sons, Willem (III) and Alexander, to London to be received with honour and festivities. Apparently the British wanted to make amends about their open support of the Belgians and also there was talk of a marriage between Prince Alexander and the future Queen Victoria. Early in 1839 Willem's father, King Willem I, declared himself in favour of the peace treaty with Belgium. However, Willem asked his father not to sign. Moreover, this was not the only disagreement between father and son; a widower since 1837, King Willem I wanted to marry a Catholic of Belgian descent, Henriette d'Oultremont, one of the ladies-in-waiting of his late wife. However, "Jetje Dondermond", as the Dutch called her, was regarded as unacceptable. The press, apparently supported by Willem, attacked King Willem I who then abdicated on 7 October 1840. At forty-eight years of age, Willem then became King Willem II of The Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxemburg. His first problem as king was in Luxemburg. The German countries wanted to sign a treaty in regards to their borders. Luxemburg was concerned as this would make it difficult to trade with that part of Luxemburg which now belonged to Belgium. When Willem II's instructions against this treaty were ignored, he wrote to the Prussian king about the matter without the knowledge of his Minister for Foreign Affairs. When the minister found this out he resigned and Willem II had considerable problems filling his position as most who were asked declined. However, he gradually replaced all his ministers as they had been in office since his father's days. The main problem now confronting him was finance, as the Belgian uprising had sapped all financial resources. For at least four years of debating, threatening and promising, a constitution was at last decided upon. However, while it was still in the final stages, Willem II suffered a heart-attack after learning that his son, Alexander, had died. He recovered and, a year later on 13 March 1849, set out for his beloved city of Tilburg. He went by ship via Hollands Diep, even though it was clear it would be a stormy passage. When he wanted to go inboard to his cabin, he hit his head violently. By the time he arrived in Tilburg he was fatally ill and, four days later, on 17 March 1849, he died.

Belgium, 2011, Lion of Waterloo

France, 2003, Monument of William II

Grenada, 2005, William I and William II

Luxemburg, 1939, William II

Netherlands, 1913, William II

Netherlands, 1913, William II

Netherlands, 1913, William II