Portrait of William I, King of the Netherlands, Joseph Paelinck, 1819
oil on canvas, h 227cm × w 155.5cm More details
In 1812 Napoleon suffered a series of major defeats which allowed William Frederick, Prince of Orange-Nassau, to return to the Netherlands as monarch in 1813. A month after Napoleon’s escape from Elba, he proclaimed himself King of the United Netherlands (now the Netherlands and Belgium) and Duke of Luxemburg. After the Battle of Waterloo he was inaugurated in 1815 as King William I.