William III and Mary II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles I

William was the product of the union between the Prince of Orange and Mary Stuart, the daughter of Charles I. Charles I was thus William's grandfather. William was born in the Hague in 1650 and Mary (his wife) was born in 1662.

Answer: James II and Anne Hyde

Mary was brought up as a Protestant but James II converted to Catholicism. Parliament hoped that the succession would pass to James' Protestant daughters (Mary and Anne) and their descendants. However, when James married the Catholic Mary of Modena and she produced a male heir it destroyed their hopes.

Answer: Louis XIV

Ironically power was thrust into William's hands by the French invasion of the Netherlands. William was made stadtholder, captain general and admiral for life. He managed to drive the French out and finally concluded a treaty with them in 1678.

Answer: Devon

William had been invited to the country by seven important nobles. He landed with an army of about 15,000. However, James II had succeeded in alienating practically everybody and the transfer of power was accomplished without bloodshed. James was allowed to escape to France.

Answer: The Glorious Revolution

The revolution was probably regarded as "glorious" because it was accomplished without bloodshed and after a time when it seemed that James II was bent on overturning the Protestant church. The horrors of the Civil War had lingered in many memories and, though James II was mostly detested, people were reluctant to rebel.

Answer: Battle of the Boyne

James II ran away once more to France and spent the rest of his life in exile. However, his descendants through his second wife, Mary of Modena, continued to organise rebellions against William, Anne, and George I and George II. Most notable amongst these attempts to re-establish the Stuart line were the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745.

Answer: Mary herself

Mary was completely devoted to and subservient to her husband. William did not want to accept the throne as his through right of conquest and preferred to be named king by Parliament through his birthright. In the end William and Mary had their way.

Answer: Whigs and Tories

The Whigs and the Tories disagreed over many things such as how commerce should be conducted and which foreign alliances should be developed. However, they agreed on the need to maintain the supremacy of parliament over the monarchy and on how essential it was to eliminate Catholic influence in government.

Answer: The Bank of England

The Bank of England was set up largely by the Whigs under the influence of Charles Montagu, earl of Halifax. This addressed the issue of the national debt and the financing of foreign wars.

Answer: It established Parliament as the supreme ruler of the country.

Parliament established its supremacy by a series of measures in the act. It prohibited foreign wars without parliament's consent. It stopped any foreigner from holding public office in England. All ministerial appointments had to be approved by parliament. All future monarchs were thus stripped of powers they had used (and abused) for centuries.

Answer: smallpox

Mary was 12 years younger than her husband. She was only in her thirty-second year when she died. It is said by some historians that Mary was liked by the people of England, though they remained indifferent to her husband. After an early feeling of repulsion Mary grew to like and admire William. William expressed great and probably genuine sorrow at his wife's death.

Answer: Elizabeth Villiers

Elizabeth Villiers was one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting. In spite of this affair William and Mary remained on good terms with each other throughout their marriage. He seemed cold and indifferent during their marriage but was affected by deep grief at her death.

Answer: The Massacre of Glencoe

Rivalry and enmity between Scottish clans was often used by governments in England in order to maintain their grip on the country and to suppress risings in favour of the Stuarts. When the Campbells slaughtered the MacDonalds there was revulsion throughout Scotland and many accusations as to what was behind it all.

Answer: Anne, his sister-in-law

Anne was William and Mary's heir. The marriage between the joint monarchs had produced no children. The Catholic King James and his descendants by his second marriage were now debarred from the throne. Anne, the Protestant princess, who was married to a Protestant prince of Denmark, was sure to inherit. Important people began to look to the future and to curry favour with the next monarch.

Answer: riding his horse

The popular story is that William was thrown from his horse when it stumbled over a mole-hill. From that time onwards Jacobites used to drink a toast to the mole as the bringer about of the downfall and death of the man that had usurped their dynasty.