Coronation of William III and Queen Mary

Object Type
This is a type of print called an etching. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid. The lines are then filled with ink which is printed onto paper.

Subject Depicted
This print is a symbolic depiction of the coronation in 1689 of William III and Mary II. The royal couple are seated in the foreground of the picture in their coronation robes. On one side, a group of men pay homage to the newly crowned King and Queen. In the background, the coronation procession can be seen passing Whitehall Palace, London. From among the buildings rises the Banqueting House (1619-1625) by Inigo Jones, one of the earliest examples of classical architecture in England. The execution of Charles I had taken place on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House on the 30 January 1649.

The Dutch text surrounding the image lists the Kings and Queens of England and Scotland and the Princes of Nassau and Orange (the ruling family of The Netherlands). It therefore legitimises the claim of William and Mary to the British throne. This type of print, recording the triumph of the Protestant King and Queen over the exiled Roman Catholic monarch James II, conveys the importance of visual propaganda.

Ownership & Use
The print was intended for a Dutch market. Mary had spent her early adulthood at the Dutch court in The Hague, where she had been a popular figure. Her coronation and that of her husband would have been of great interest in Holland and people would have been keen to obtain images of such an important event.