Wilhelm III. und seine spezifischen Vorstellungen, wie seine zukünftige Gattin sein sollte: Wilhelm III. war schon im Jahr 1674 bei seinem Onkel Karl II. Stuart als zukünftiger Gatte seiner Nichte Mary, die gleichzeitig Wilhelms Cousine war, im Gespräch. Aber im Gegensatz zu seinen männlichen Zeitgenossen nahm er die Heirat sehr ernst. Er wollte nur eine Frau heiraten, die er persönlich mochte und die zu ihm passte. Er war also auf der Suche nach seiner Seelengefährtin. Über seine Begegnung mit dem englischen Abgesandten Sir William Temple bezüglich dieses Themas berichtet Letzterer Folgendes: "'... he [Wilhelm III.] met me one morning by appointment in the garden of his Hounslaryko palace, and there, after telling me that his friends often pressed him to marry, and descanting on the offers he had received from the high-born damsels in France and Germany, and discoursing on love and marriage matters, remarked that he wished to know somewhat of the person and disposition of the young Lady Mary; for though it would not pass in the world for a Prince to seem concerned in those particulars, yet for himself he was so, and to such a degree, that no circumstances of fortune and interest would engage him without those of person, especially those of humour and disposition. As for himself, probably he would not be very easy for a wife to live with; he was sure he should not, to such wives who were generally in the courts of this age; that if he should meet with one to give him trouble at home, it was what he should not be able to bear, who was like to have enough abroad in the course of his life. Besides, after the manner in which he was resolved to live with a wife, which should be the very best he could, he would have one that he thought likely to live well with him, which he thought chiefly depended on her disposition and education; and that if I knew anything particular in these points of the Lady Mary, he desired I would tell him freely.' Temple replied, 'that of his own observation he knew nothing of the temper and disposition of the Princess, but that he had heard her highly spoken of by his wife, his sister, and also by her governess, Lady Villiers.'" (in: Francis Lancelott: The Queens of England and their Times, Volume II, id., p. 796).
Aber Wilhelm III. gab sich nicht zufrieden mit den nur mündlichen Beschreibungen seiner zukünftigen Gattin. Er wollte sie selbst sehen und kennenlernen. So machte er sich nach dem Ende seines Feldzuges im Jahr 1677 nach England auf, wo er am 9. Oktober eintraf: "He was received by Charles and his brother [Jakob II. (VII.), also seinen beiden Onkeln] with marked attention; but, to their astonishment, he informed them through Temple that he was resolved to see the Princess Mary, before entering into discussions of business, as until he had made himself acquainted with her, it was impossible for him to be in love with her." Und so sah er sie, und er mochte sie! Sein Onkel, der englisch-schottische König Karl II. Stuart, wollte, wie es allgemein üblich war, diese Heirat mit einem Friedensvertrag verbinden, aber bekam erneut eine Ablehnung von seinem Neffen: "But to this he [Wilhelm III.] demurred: 'he must end his marriage before he entered upon the peace treaty,' he said, 'otherwise his allies would be apt to believe that he had made his match at their cost: and for his part, he would never sell his honour for a wife.'" Hierzu fand sich Karl II. Stuart jedoch nicht bereit. Aber er kannte seinen Neffen Wilhelm nicht, der gab nämlich nicht nach. Also fügte sich der König: "Well, I never yet was deceived in judging a man’s honesty by his looks, and if I am not deceived in the Prince’s face, he is the honestest man in the world. I will trust him, and he shall have his wife, and you, Sir William Temple, shall go immediately and tell my brother so, and that it is a thing I am resolved on." (in: Francis Lancelott: The Queens of England and their Times, Volume II, id., p. 796).
"As to the poor bride [Mary II. Stuart], she was not so much as asked if she had any objection to enter the married state; and when the Duke of York [ihr Vater] took her into her closet, on the twenty-first of October, and informed her of the proposed marriage between her and the Prince of Orange, she wept bitterly all that afternoon, and all the following day. Indeed, for her the suit had no charms, she had already fixed her affections on a handsome young Scotch noble …" Aber die Frauen in der Vergangenheit hatten kein Recht, sich den Gatten selbst auszusuchen. "On Sunday, the fourth of November 1677 the Lady Mary of York was solemnly married to William, Prince of Orange. The nuptials were performed in the bride’s bed-chamber, by Compton, Bishop of London, and in the presence of Charles II., and his consort, Katherine of Braganza, and the Duke and Duchess of York [dem Vater und der Stiefmutter von Mary]. Charles gave his dejected niece away, and was unusually merry on the occasion. In reply to the question, 'Who gives this woman?' he loudly exclaimed, 'I do;' and when the bridegroom, at the moment of endowing his bride with all his worldly goods, placed a handful of gold and silver coin on the prayer-book, Charles with an arch look, told his niece to take it up and put it in her pocket, for it was all clear gain. The ceremony concluded, the newly-wedded pair were formally congratulated by the court and the foreign ambassadors; and at night, after partaking of a right royal supper, they received the accustomed honours from the King, Queen, and court in bed. On the following morning, the Prince presented his bride with jewels worth £40,000 … whilst throughout the chief cities in Great Britain the bells rang, the canon boomed, the conduits ran with wine, and the people drank the health of their Highnesses with long and loud acclamations. The Princess Mary had been married but two days, when the birth of a fine healthy brother [ihres Stiefbruders Karl] destroyed the probability of her succeeding to the throne of Great Britain. William of Orange viewed the event as a misfortune; and, although he stood sponsor to the unwelcome babe, he exhibited marked symptoms of disappointment and vexation. At this period the small-pox was raging at St. James’s, the Lady Anne of York [die jüngere Schwester von Mary] was confined to her bed with it, and although Mary was urged by the Duke of York and by the Prince her husband, to quit the infected palace, neither threats, persuasions, not the danger of infection could prevail. She wished to be near her sorely sick sister, she said, till the hour of her departure from England; a concession which she succeeded in wringing from her husband and her indulgent father." (in: Francis Lancelott: The Queens of England and their Times, Volume II, id., pp. 797-798).