In 1799, William landed in the current North Holland as part of an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The hereditary prince was instrumental in fomenting a mutiny on the Batavian naval squadron in the Vlieter, resulting in the surrender of the ships without a fight to the Royal Navy, which accepted the surrender in the name of the stadtholder. Not all the local Dutch population, however, was pleased with the arrival of the prince. One local Orangist was even executed. The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise. After several minor battles the hereditary prince was forced to leave the country again after the Convention of Alkmaar. The mutineers of the Batavian fleet, with their ships, and a large number of deserters from the Batavian army accompanied the retreating British troops to Britain. There William formed the King's Dutch Brigade with these troops, a military unit in British service, that swore oaths of allegiance to the British king, but also to the States General, defunct since 1795, "whenever those would be reconstituted." This brigade trained on the Isle of Wight in 1800 and was eventually used by the British in Ireland.
In 1799, William landed in the current North Holland as part of an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The hereditary prince was instrumental in fomenting a mutiny on the Batavian naval squadron in the Vlieter, resulting in the surrender of the ships without a fight to the Royal Navy which accepted the surrender in the name of the stadtholder. Not all the local Dutch population, however was pleased with the arrival of the prince. One local Orangist was even executed. The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise. After several minor battles the hereditary prince was forced to leave the country again after the Convention of Alkmaar. The mutineers of the Batavian fleet, with their ships, and a large number of deserters from the Batavian army accompanied the retreating British troops to Britain. There William formed the King's Dutch Brigade with these troops, a military unit in British service, that swore oaths of allegiance to the British king, but also to the States General, defunct since 1795, "whenever those would be reconstituted." This brigade trained on the Isle of Wight in 1800 and was eventually used by the British in Ireland.