I’m sure you’ve all heard the tale of how upon the death of King William III, the Jacobites (followers of King James II) merrily toasted to the “gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat”.
The rumour was spread at the time, that the King died as a result of his horse stumbling upon a molehill.
The Jacobite propaganda machine was still in full swing – yes it existed way back then too! As there was also a rumour that the horse he was riding had been confiscated from Sir John Fenwick, one of the Jacobites who had conspired against William during the Glorious Revolution.
So obviously it stumbled intentionally. A Orwellian animal conspiracy worthy of “Animal Farm”.
But at least the mammals managed to push William towards the Grim Reaper eh? Succeeding where Jacobitie invasion attempts and assassination plots had failed.
Except for one small problem……that’s not actually why he died!
Ill-Health
From his early years, William was not a healthy child. In appearance he was small and thin, with a extremely large aquiline nose, piercing eyes and a slightly hunched back.
He suffered very badly from chronic asthma all his life, and the smog-ridden air of London badly dis-agreed with him resulting in a constant deep cough.
It affected him such an extent that during his reign in England, the Royal court was moved to Hampton Court outside of London. A not insignificant change in those days considering the size of the Royal Court.
However despite his ill-health, William had quite a reputation as a soldier. He was appointed as Captain-General of the Dutch States Army at only 20 years old, becoming stadtholder of the Dutch Republic at the age of 24.
His passionate commitment to warfare earned him the epithet ‘warrior-king’. During his English reign, he was absent from the realm for extended periods during his war with France, leaving each spring and returning to England each autumn.
Yes, there was a fall
It is true, however, that early on the 21st of February 1702, he had gone for a ride on Home Park at Hampton Court Palace and there, it is said, his horse stumbled upon a molehill, throwing him off violently, whereupon he landed on the ground, instantly breaking his collarbone.
It could easily have been worse than this – we’ve all heard of people breaking their neck and dying or becoming paralysed, so his fall was not so especially bad, and did not appear to be life-threatening.
For the next fortnight he appeared to be making a good recovery, and this was proven at a later post-mortem examination.
So what did kill him?
After his broken collar-bone had been set, William demanded to be taken to Kensington Palace, which is around 12 miles away.
The carriage ride there was bone-jolting. It must have hurt terribly, for the bone had to be re-set upon arrival.
On the 5th March, he took a few turns around what is now The King’s Gallery and sat down and fell asleep by an open window, overlooking the elegant parterres that could be seen from there.
It was February, and very cold! William awoke feverish and feeling ill (no surprise there, falling asleep in front of an icy draught!) and collapsed.
His condition deteriorated rapidly and by the 7th March the King was convinced that he was dying.
Attended by Archbishop Tenison, Gilbert Burner and his closest friends, Keppel and Bentinck, William uttered his last recognisable words.
“Je tire vers ma fin”
I draw towards my end
And so, William Henry, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland died on the 8th of March, 1702, around 8am or 9am.
Since he was born in November of 1650, this made him only 51 years old.
Post Mortem
The King’s body was subjected to a post-mortem examination, which took place on the 10th of March – two days after he had died.
Several physicians were in attendance, including William’s favourite Doctor Bidloo, and four surgeons.
The post-mortem report is rather lengthy, detailing his healthy spleen and kidneys and brain, but the important part is below.
In plain English, he died from pulmonary fever (pneumonia); his lungs were in a terrible state.
As mentioned, he had suffered from chronic asthma throughout his life, and as we know, pneumonia is most likely to occur in those who are elderly, very young, or chronically ill.
William was chronically ill. Even 320 years of advances in medicine, people regularly die from pneumonia throughout the world.
Burial
In the event, William’s death garnered little attention.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey in a private ceremony, apparently in the middle of the night, without any great fuss on 12th April 1702.
His body was placed beside that of his wife in the same vault.
He had worked tirelessly to bring an end to French expansionism and yet this work paved the way for military successes against the French not during his own reign, but during that of his sister-in-law, Anne.
Anne and William had a toxic relationship, she was quite callous and cruel towards him as a result of her jealousy that he continued to reign after Mary’s death.
So it comes as no surprise that plans laid by the Privy Council for monuments to him in Westminster Abbey and in other public places were never brought into effect.
Legacy
Many historians believe the Glorious Revolution was one of the most important events leading to Britain’s transformation from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.
After this event, the monarchy in England would never hold absolute power again.
With the Bill of Rights, the regent’s power was defined, written down and limited for the first time.
Parliament’s function and influence changed dramatically in the years following the revolution.
The event also had an impact on the 13 colonies in North America. The colonists were temporarily freed of strict, anti-Puritan laws after King James was overthrown.
When news of the revolution reached the Americans, several uprisings followed, including the Boston Revolt, Leisler’s Rebellion in New York and the Protestant Revolution in Maryland.
Since the Glorious Revolution, Parliament’s power in Britain has continued to increase, while the monarchy’s influence has waned.
There’s no doubt this important event helped set the stage for the United Kingdom’s present-day political system and government.
It doesn’t really feel right that a man who affected such great changes, had such a understated and almost disrespectful funeral.
