Background
William II was the son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia. He was born at the Hague on December 6, 1792.
William II was the son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia. He was born at the Hague on December 6, 1792.
Educated in exile, he returned in 1813 with his father, William I, who had become king of the United Netherlands.
Popular in the southern Netherlands (Belgium), William II might have been able to prevent the separation of Belgium from the United Netherlands if his father had not interfered. Crowned king after his father's abdication in 1840, William II faced internal political problems which resulted in 1848 in a liberal constitution, greatly curtailing the power of the crown.
