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William II, (born May 27, 1626, The Hague, Neth.—died Nov. 6, 1650, The Hague), prince of Orange, count of Nassau, stadtholder and captain general of six provinces of the Netherlands from 1647, and the central figure of a critical struggle for power in the Dutch Republic.

William II was the son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia. When his father, who up to that time ruled as sovereign prince , proclaimed himself king in 1815, he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands .

In 1849, after the death of his grandfather King William II of the Netherlands, he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent. His Victorian upbringing turned out to be a disaster. Failed marriages The Prince of Orange at a later age

Composite portrait of four generations of Princes of Orange – William I (in role 1544–1584), Maurice (1618–1625) and Frederick Henry (1625–1647), William II (1647–1650), William III (1650–1702) – Willem van Honthorst, 1662

Born in November in The Hague he was the only child of William II, Prince of Orange and his wife Mary, who also happened to be the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. Unfortunately, William’s father, the prince, died two weeks before he was born, resulting in him assuming the title of Prince of Orange from birth.

William the Silent or William the Taciturn (Dutch: Willem de Zwijger; 24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (Dutch: Willem van Oranje), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) and resulted in the formal independence ...

Glorious Revolution, events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of English King James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadholder of the Netherlands. Both Whig and Tory politicians invited William to bring an army to England to redress the nation’s grievances.

William II (27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three years later. His only child, William III, reigned as King of England, Ireland, and Scotland.