Editing William III of England (section)

===Rumours of homosexuality===
During the 1690s, rumours grew of William's alleged homosexual inclinations and led to the publication of many satirical pamphlets by his Jacobite detractors.<ref>{{Citation |title=Culture and Society in Britain |date=1997 |page=97 |editor-last=Black |editor-first=J |place=Manchester}}.</ref> He did have several close male associates, including two Dutch courtiers to whom he granted English titles: Hans Willem Bentinck became [[Earl of Portland]], and [[Arnold Joost van Keppel]] was created [[Earl of Albemarle]]. These relationships with male friends, and his apparent lack of mistresses, led William's enemies to suggest that he might prefer homosexual relationships. William's modern biographers disagree on the veracity of these allegations. Some believe there may have been truth to the rumours,<ref>Troost, pp. 25–26; Van der Zee, pp. 421–423</ref> while others affirm that they were no more than figments of his enemies' imaginations, as it was common for someone childless like William to adopt, or evince paternal affections for, a younger man.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 204–205; Baxter, p. 352; {{Citation |last=Falkner |first=James |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |date=2004 |contribution=Keppel, Arnold Joost van, first earl of Albemarle (1669/70–1718) |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

Whatever the case, Bentinck's closeness to William did arouse jealousies at the royal court. William's young protégé, Keppel, aroused more gossip and suspicion, being 20 years William's junior, strikingly handsome, and having risen from the post of a royal page to an earldom with some ease.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 201</ref> Portland wrote to William in 1697 that "the kindness which your Majesty has for a young man, and the way in which you seem to authorise his liberties&nbsp;... make the world say things I am ashamed to hear."<ref name="vdk202">Van der Kiste, pp. 202–203</ref> This, he said, was "tarnishing a reputation which has never before been subject to such accusations". William tersely dismissed these suggestions, however, saying, "It seems to me very extraordinary that it should be impossible to have esteem and regard for a young man without it being criminal."<ref name=vdk202/>