A Reappraisal of the Architectural Legacy of King-Stadholder William III and Queen Mary II: Taste, Passion and Frenzy

This article reappraises the architectural legacy of King William III and Queen Mary II on the basis of an examination of all of the building projects relating to castles and palaces in Great Britain and the Low Countries during their reign. In both countries William and Mary were continuously renovating and adding additions to already existing castles and palaces as well as creating new ones, always simultaneously combining various projects. The authors propose that the extent of William and Mary’s architectural endeavours has so far been underestimated, primarily because these have not been assessed as an ensemble. Similarly, the monarchs’ great interest in the interior of their residences, and especially in their painting collections, has not been sufficiently acknowledged. This article brings together two academic traditions at both sides of the North Sea: on the basis of primary sources such as the diaries of Constantijn Huygens Jr, travel accounts and probate inventories, both the motivation for their frantic building can be discerned, as well as the quality, scope and cultural agency of the architectural and art programmes of William and Mary.