William I proclaimed King of the United Netherlands

Background. After being invited by the Triumvirate of 1813, William landed at Scheveningen on 30 November 1813, and on 6 December the provisional government offered him the title of king. He refused, instead proclaiming himself "Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands", and was inaugurated as sovereign prince in the New Church in Amsterdam on 30 March 1814. In June 1814, the Great Powers secretly agreed to the Eight Articles of London, allocating the region to the Dutch as William had advocated, setting the stage for the elevation to a kingdom.

Proclamation. Feeling threatened by Napoleon's escape from Elba, William proclaimed the Netherlands a kingdom on 16 March 1815. This action was urged by the powers gathered at the Congress of Vienna. He was formally confirmed as the hereditary ruler of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which included territories from the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Territorial Settlement. The United Netherlands was created as a buffer state between major European powers. In exchange for the Southern Netherlands, William agreed to cede the Principality of Orange-Nassau and parts of Liège to Prussia on 31 May 1815. The polity was established as a constitutional monarchy ruled by William I of the House of Orange-Nassau.