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William V was born in 1748. He was the oldest son of William IV and Anna of England. At the age of eleven he becomes an orphan.. Guardianship was taken by the Duke van Brunswijk-Wolfenbuttel, governor of 's Hertogenbosch. In 1766, the year William reached the age of 18 this Guardianship ends. Due to the fact he signed the "act of consultancy", he tied himself with hands and feet to the Duke, who kept an enormous amount of influence. On the 4th of October he married Wilhelmina von Hohenzollern, a Prussian princes, born in Berlin. They had three children; Louise Frederike(1770), William Frederic (The later King William I) and Frederic (1774). Wilhelmina had, as time will learn, a strong personality, in contrast to her weak husband.

1780 was the start of the fourth English War. This was the coupe de grace for the almost near impossible trade not existent. Stadtholder William V was accused of being secretly pro-English which results in a discord between the regents and the house of the stadtholder. In the second half of the 1780's the patriots (against the house of orange) gained control of government in the province Holland. They attempted to weaken Williams power by taking over a number of important responsibilities. He lost for example in 1785, after an orange-riot in The Hague, command over the garrison. The prince reacted by leaving The Hague, with his family and moved to Nijmegen. In the following year the patriots took away the title of captain-general after an attack of Orangist troops on the cities Hattem and Elburg.

The supporters of the Orange Dynasty refused to accept this situation. In their opinion the Stadtholder could not permit himself to remain in Nijmegen and and should return to the Hague to restore his power. William V refused however to return unless invited by the Staten-Generaal. His spouse Wilhelmina decided however to go to The Hague on her own. Her intention was restore peace and order and avoid a war between the patriots and orangists. On the 28th of June 1787 the princes started of on her journey.

The intended route became known however and a free-corps of Gouda awaits her near the Goejanverwelle-lock which, by desertion of the troops, was unguarded. Wilhelmina was stopped and brought to a nearby farm where the free-corps was quartered. The company was guarded with bared sabres. In the evening the commissioners of defence arrived who refuse to let her pass without permission of the Staten-Generaal Holland. The next day she returned infuriated to Nijmegen where she writes her brother, Frederic William II, the king of Prussia. After the incident at the lock he cannot withhold his help any longer.

Frederic William II, king of Prussia, took the arrest of his sister as an insult and demands satisfaction from the Staten-Generaal.. On the 13th September he invaded the republic with an army of 20.000 Prussian soldiers. He marched in at three different points from the border and reached the first important patriotic stronghold near Vianen on the 15th of September, which was however deserted. The only resistance the Prussian army encountered was when crossing the river water. The Prussians found little resistance elsewhere either. On the 18th of September 1787, the Staten Generaal were forced to reinstate William V in his function as captain-general and commander of the garrison of 's-Gravenhage. Two days later he returned, on their request to The Hague. The patriots fled the country, many of them returned however after1795 (the invasion of the French) to be reinstated in the government.

On the 26 of June 1794 the French march through Belgium, in September they started their successful siege of 's Hertogenbosch. The 16th of October Venlo capitulated, Maastricht fall after a 6 week siege, followed by Nijmegen on the 7th of November. The remaining patriots celebrated and danced around "freedom-trees". Utrecht was in French hands the 16th of January 1795, Arnhem the 17th and Nieuwersluis a day later. Willem V left at sunday the 18th of januari, helped by fishermen from Scheveningen, towards England. He took his leave with the words: "I leave but to return".

This was the start of the "Bataafse Republic". Knighthood, including nobility was abolished. The Bataafse revolution was to be characterised by progression, enlightment and progression of the people. There was to be no place for the remainders of medieval society. When conservatives make a coup d'etat, Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck was appointed by Napoleon as ambassador of France. Napoleon watched the developments in the Bataafse republic, closely himself. What he saw; an unstable government and an increasing state-debt, did not please him at all. On June the 4th, 1806, Schimmelpenninck was forced to resign from office. One day later Napoleon declared his brother, Lodewijk Napoleon Bonaparte, king of the Netherlands.

Willem V died in Brunswijk on the 9th of April 1806 in Brunswijk, his corpse was added to the family tomb on the 29th of April 1858, in the New Church in Delft.