On the 11th of April, 1689, William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, were crowned King and Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This was the culmination of a process during which William had invaded England, claiming that his uncle and father-in-law James II was becoming a tyrant and that he, William, would protect English liberties. In parliamentary debates, the questions of whether a king could be removed and who could replace him were of the greatest importance. As such, the role of Mary as James’s elder daughter was crucial, and led to the coronation of William and Mary as the first and only joint monarchs in British history.

The two founders of William & Mary reigned together until Mary’s death at the end of 1694, after which William reigned alone until 1702. As the couple had no children, on Mary’s death the heirs presumptive were her sister Anne and Anne’s son, William, Duke of Gloucester. It is because of these royal connections that we find ourselves in William & Mary, in the town of Williamsburg, at the end of DoG Street.

For more information about the display, read Phillip Emanuel's post on the Special Collections' blog, An Acquired Taste.

Photos of the display are available from William & Mary Libraries on Flickr.

Curator: Phillip Emanuel, Special Collections Graduate Assistant and PhD Candidate in History.
Exhibit Design: Abram Clear, SCRC Graphics Student Assistant.
Fabrication and Installation: Kim Sims, University Archivist; Jennie Davy, Exhibits Manager; and Phillip Emanuel, with assistance from Dana Florczak, Undergraduate Student Assistant.