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William and Mary were joint King and Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland in the late 17th century. William III or William of Orange was the son of Mary Henrietta Stuart who was the daughter of Charles I CHARLES I - MARY HENRIETTA - WILLIAM III Mary II was the daughter of James II from his first marriage to Anne Hyde. James was the son of Charles I CHARLES I - JAMES II - MARY II Therfore William and Mary were first cousins. They were also married and lived in the Dutch republic with William holding the title of Stadtholder (head of state) over the majority of the provinces within the dutch republic. When James II fled England in 1688 after being deposed by the English parliament It was decided to invite James's daughter Mary to take the English crown. Mary only agreed to this on the understanding that she and her husband William share the crown as joint regents. They were crowned in 1689 as William III and Mary II of England and Ireland (along with the titular crown of France) and one month later as William II and Mary II in Scotland.

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16y ago

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