Willliam VI and II of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands

Full name
	William Henry Arthur Frederick

William VI and II
William VI and II
King of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands and the British Dominions (more...)
Reign	7 July 1837 - 30 January 1913
Coronation	22 December 1853
Predecessor	Victoria
Successor	William VII and III
Regents	Queen Adelaide (1837-1849); Queen Victoria (1849-1853);
Emperor of India
Reign	7 July 1876 - 30 January 1913
Imperial Durbar	2 February 1877
Successor	William VII and III
King of Hanover
Reign	7 July 1837 - 30 January 1913
Coronation	22 December 1853
Predecessor	Henry
Successor	William VII and III
King of the Netherlands; Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Duke of Limburg
Reign	7 July 1837 - 30 January 1913
Inauguration	1 January 1854
Predecessor	Henry
Successor	William VII and III
Born	7 July 1837; Marlborough House, London
Died	30 January 1913 (aged 75); Buckingham Palace, London
Burial	7 February 1913; William And Charlotte Memorial, Edinburgh, Scotland
Spouse	Princess Louise of Prussia (m. 1856)
Issue; Detail	William VII and III; Mary, Grand Duchess of Russia; Alexander, Duke of Dover; George, Duke of Southampton;
Full name
Full name
	William Henry Arthur Frederick
House	Hanover
Father	John II and I
Mother	Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Religion	Protestant

William VI and II (William Henry Arthur Frederick; 7 July 1837 - 30 January 1913), better known as the Soldier King, and sometimes as the Sun King as he most frequently styled himself in his later years, was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover of William VI, and King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg as William II from 7 July 1837 until 30 January 1913. His birth, which came about eighteen days following the dissolution of the tripartite Anglo-Hanover-Dutch union effectively restored the union, with the briefly reigning Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Henry of the Netherlands and Hanover abdicating their respective thrones to William. He was also the first Emperor of India from 1876 until his death when he was then succeeded by his son, William VII and III. Throughout his reign and lifetime, William participated in various battles as the British Army's Commander-in-Chief, often with great success. Furthermore, he was also instrumental in the founding of the elite Abyssinian Regiment, established after the British campaign in Ethiopia.

His reign of 75 years and 6 months, which surpassed that of his grandfather, King William IV and I, and that of the previously longest reigning monarch in history, King Louis XIV of France, is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country and was known as the Williamite Era during which the British and the Dutch empires respectively grew dramatically in terms of influence and territorial gains, alongside domestic-based innovations ranging from political to military issues, the latter in which he actively promoted and supported. English historian, Richard Stone described him as "a king with the military prowess of Henry V and the able statesmanship of Henry VII", while Dutch historian, Piet Eldering likened him to the popular King William III of England, with both monarchs being well-known for their respective military prowess.

Throughout the course of his long reign, he has successively celebrated his silver, ruby, golden, diamond, sapphire, and platinum jubilees, all of which respectively marked his 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 65th, and 70th year on the throne.

Early Life

Death

By the time he was in his sixties, William's health began to steadily decline due to his constant military campaigns which thoroughly exposed him to harsh conditions. Regardless, though he had by then agreed to retire from his usual military expeditions, he continued performing his official duties as usual, and reportedly showed much "admirable" and "redeeming" strength as noted by Balfour, his Prime Minister at that time. However, his health began to take a serious decline in 1910 when he suddenly fainted in the palace hallways, before being rescued by one of the palace staff. Yet, the aged king took no effort in discontinuing himself from his works, with his last major appearance being at the wedding of his grandson, the future King Frederick to Princess Victoria Louise, the only daughter of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

In the midst of the occasion which was held at the Berlin Palace, the seventy-six-year-old king reminded the attendees there of the need to prepare against the new spirits of nationalism, recently inflated by the Balkan Wars. The fluency of his speech at such an old age was universally praised but the message itself proved ultimately futile with the onset of the First World War around a year later. William would later succumb to old age just twenty-five days later, on the exact date of January 30th, 1913. His funeral, which saw the largest amount of attendance by both local and foreign guests garnered much worldwide publicity and was often symbolically referenced in the United Kingdom during the beginning of the First World War.

On December 1st 1918, upon the behest of his wife, a horseback statue of the king on horseback was constructed in front of the Marlborough House, the king's birthplace. However, on the month of June 2020, it has since been removed from its original spot and subsequently relocated to a museum instead following the Black Lives Matter protests in England, which had prior seen topplings of statues associated with the British colonial past.

Modern Reassessment

For decades after his death, the late King has generally accrued a much overwhelmingly positive image among the British public, with William himself often being portrayed or depicted by many as a national British hero, due largely to his noted military prowess throughout his lifetime. However, by the early 21st century, the late sovereign's legacy has since been subjected to reassessments which have since also depicted him as a "symbol of British imperialism and extreme British militarism". In particular, Anthony Harrison, a history expert from the University of Oxford, wrote in his assessment of the late king's legacy, "As the modern generation began to see past leaders in a much different light, the late King himself is of no exception. For some, he was the male and historical version of Britannia, a proud and mighty personification of Britain's military triumph, while to the other, he was an old and outdated symbol of past British imperialism, in which the late king himself actively contributed to, particularly at the various battlefields of the time".

Personal Information

Titles & Honours

7 July 1837 - 30 January 1913 His Majesty The King of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Limburg

Honours

National

United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
United Kingdom - Sovereign and Founder of the Royal Family Order of King William VI
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Royal Guelphic Order
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Order of St. George
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
United Kingdom - Sovereign of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
United Kingdom - Sovereign and Founder of the Order of the British Empire
United Kingdom - Sovereign and Founder of the Distinguished Service Order
United Kingdom - Sovereign and Founder of the Williamite Cross