In the spring of 1672, the French King Louis XIV, in his quest for Universal Monarchy, ordered an army of 120,000 troops to invade the Netherlands. His cousin, King Charles 11, lent a hand and attacked the Dutch fleet in the North Sea.

Within days, the massive French army had crossed the strategically vital river Rhine and crushed the Dutch defences. The provinces of Holland and Zeeland managed to hold out.

The French invasion provoked utter panic and the Dutch, desperate to find a scapegoat for their humiliating defeat, turned on the Republican de Witt brothers who had been at the helm of the young state. William turned a blind eye as his former teacher, Johan de Witt, was brutally murdered.

The Dutch, seeking national reassurance, placed their faith in the House of Orange and put twenty-two year-old Prince William in charge of the army. He injected a new sense of confidence, ordered a retreat and made the last strongholds resist the French advance.

The Dutch state was saved and William was hailed a hero. He was revered like Moses and Gideon, and compared to his illustrious great-grandfather William the Silent, the hero of the Dutch Revolt. The Dutch saw the hand of God in his success as William turned what was known as the Year of Disaster into a Year of Wonder.

When the English and French ambassadors came to his war tent to offer him sovereignty in exchange for surrender, William refused to betray his compatriots. At that moment the Orange legend was reborn.