ABSTRACT
In March 1689 Bentinck informed the ad interim Grand Pensionary, Michiel ten Hove, that the English parliament had decided to join the alliance with the Dutch Republic. 1 When in May the Commons vouched their support for the King in his war against France, William declared that this moment marked the real beginning of his kingship. 2 William led his armies in to war in Flanders, thus drawing the British Isles into the mainstream of continental affairs. Arguably, the war occupied the King and his favourite more than any other issue. The Marquis of Halifax thought: ‘Hee hath such a mind to France, that it would incline one to think, hee tooke England onely in his way.’ 3 The war overshadowed any domestic concerns. When the magistrates of one of the Dutch cities were causing problems in 1690, Portland wrote to reassure William that at least they still supported the war effort: ‘they can be relied on in the great affair.’ 4
