King William III
1 of 7 portraits by Gerard de Lairesse
© National Portrait Gallery, London
King William III
by Gerard de Lairesse
etching, 1670s-1680s
6 5/8 in. x 4 1/2 in. (168 mm x 114 mm) plate size; 7 3/8 in. x 5 1/4 in. (188 mm x 134 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D16905
Sitterback to top
- King William III (1650-1702), Reigned 1689-1702. Sitter associated with 142 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Gerard de Lairesse (1640-1711), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 7 portraits.
Events of 1670back to top
Current affairs
Charles II mistress, Barbara Villiers, is created Duchess of Cleveland and granted Nonsuch Palace including its sizeable grounds.Actress and royal mistress, Nell Gwyn, gives birth to Charles II's son, Charles, who would later become, Duke of St. Albans.
Art and science
Tragicomedy, The Forc'd Marriage, by Aphra Behn, staged by the Duke's Company, starts Behn's career as a professional writer. The writer may have been a royalist spy towards the end of the interregnum.Poet laureate, John Dryden, is made historiographer royal, a post he would hold for nearly 20 years.
International
Terms of a secret treaty between Charles II and Louis XIV are brought by Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans during a visit to Dover; upon England supplying the majority of military power for a war against Holland and Charles's official conversion to Catholicism, France would assist financially.Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.