Footnotes

Born in 1792, Willem Frederik George Lodewijk was the eldest son of King William I of the Netherlands and Wilhelmine of Prussia. Under threat from the anti-orangist Patriots, the family were forced to flee the Netherlands in 1795 and as a result William spent most of his childhood at the Prussian court, where he followed a military education and served in the Prussian army. He later entered the British Army, and in 1811, as aide-de-camp to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, took part in several campaigns of the Peninsular War. He was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army on 11 June 1811 and Colonel on 21 October that year. On 8 September 1812 he was made an aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent and on 14 December 1813 promoted to Major-General. His courage and good nature made him very popular with the British, who nicknamed him "Slender Billy".

He returned to the Netherlands in 1813 when his father became sovereign prince. In 1815, he took service in the Allied army when Napoleon escaped from Elba. He fought as commander of the Allied Corps at the Battle of Quatre Bras and the Battle of Waterloo, where he was knocked from his horse by a musket ball to the shoulder. The location where the young prince was wounded is marked by the Lion's Mound, an artificial hill surmounted by a statue of a lion, which was commissioned by King William I in 1820. As a sign of gratitude for his victory in Waterloo, William was offered Soestdijk Palace by the Dutch people.

In 1814, William became briefly engaged to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only daughter of the Prince Regent and his estranged wife Caroline of Brunswick. Although arranged by the Prince Regent, the engagement was soon called off as both Charlotte and her mother disagreed with the match. He later married the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia, youngest sister to Czar Alexander I.

William enjoyed considerable popularity in the Netherlands and was known for his affability and moderation. Following his father's abdication, he acceded to the throne as William II in 1840. In 1848, revolutions broke out all over Europe, and in Paris the Bourbon-Orleans monarchy fell. Fearful that revolution would spread to Amsterdam next, William decided to institute a more liberal regime, believing it was better to grant reforms instead of having them imposed on him. A new constitution was created and royal power decreased sharply. He swore in the first parliamentary cabinet a few months before his death in 1849

The maker is Joseph-Francois Manceaux or his son Francois-Jules