Which Dutch prince landed in England on 5 November 1688?

The Dutch prince who landed in England on 5 November 1688 was William of Orange.

William arrived at Brixham in southwest England with a Dutch invasion force during the Glorious Revolution. He intervened against his father-in-law, the Catholic King James II, presenting the expedition as a defence of England’s liberties and Protestant religion.

William’s fleet had been delayed by storms in October, but the landing on 5 November went ahead with a substantial army. Support for James quickly weakened as English political leaders, army officers and naval personnel shifted their allegiance to William. James eventually fled to France, allowing William and his wife, Mary, to take the throne jointly in 1689.

The date creates an interesting historical overlap: England already marked 5 November for the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. William’s landing occurred 83 years later, so the day became associated with two major episodes in English political and religious history. William was not Prince Rupert, the Duke of Monmouth or the Earl of Essex; all three belong to different political or military contexts.