Editing William III of England (section)

===Birth and family===
[[File:Portret van Willem II (1626-50), prins van Oranje, en zijn echtgenote Maria Stuart (1631-60) Rijksmuseum SK-A-871.jpeg|thumb|alt=Portrait of Mary in a yellow gown and William II in a black suit|upright|William's parents, William II of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal, 1647]]

William III was born in [[The Hague]] in the [[Dutch Republic]] on 4 November 1650.{{Efn|name=OSNS}}<ref>Claydon, p. 9</ref> Baptised William Henry ({{Langx|nl|Willem Hendrik}}), he was the only child of [[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Mary, Princess Royal]], and ''[[stadtholder]]'' [[William II, Prince of Orange]]. Mary was the elder daughter of King [[Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland]] and sister of kings [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] and [[James II and VII]].

Eight days before William was born, his father died of [[smallpox]]; thus, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth.<ref>Claydon, p. 14</ref> Immediately, a conflict arose between his mother and his paternal grandmother, [[Amalia of Solms-Braunfels]], over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William (''Willem'') to bolster his prospects of becoming ''stadtholder''.<ref>Troost, p. 26; van der Zee, pp. 6–7</ref> William II had intended to appoint his wife as their son's guardian in his will; however, the document remained unsigned at William II's death and was therefore void.<ref>Troost, p. 26</ref> On 13 August 1651, the ''[[Hoge Raad van Holland en Zeeland]]'' (Supreme Court) ruled that guardianship would be shared between his mother, his grandmother and [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg]], husband of his paternal aunt [[Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau|Louise Henriette]].{{efn|Frederick William was chosen because he could act as a neutral party mediating between the two women, but also because as a possible heir he was interested in protecting the Orange family fortune, which Amalia feared Mary would squander. Troost, pp. 26–27.}}