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In the 1660s a general tendency towards ennoblement can be observed in Dutch painting across all the genres. De Heem's ambitious composition of a cartouche surrounded by flowers and fruits with a central pictorial field follows the Flemish formula perfected by Daniel Seghers and already employed by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Rubens.
William III was born in 1650 and elected Governor of the Netherlands in 1672; from 1689 until his death in 1702 he was King of England. Alongside the oranges, the lion of the Netherlands, the two heraldic eagles, the laurel wreath, the sunflower and the orange lily are all clear references to the status of the sitter as Prince of Orange. The white lily on the other hand, refers to impeccable honesty. The red and white roses symbolize the houses of Lancaster and York, from which William's mother Maria Henrietta Stuart was descended. The fruits spilling out of the cornucopia are symbols of general prosperity.
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