The Orange Order, which operates throughout the UK but mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, is a Protestant organisation established in 1795 in honour of King William III, king of England (and Wales), Scotland and Ireland between 1689 and 1702. He was of the House of Orange-Nassau and was a Dutchman. King William III is famous for defeating the deposed King James II, a Catholic, during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. His army and followers were the Williamites and James II's army and followers were the Jacobites. William III invaded England in 1688 and brought with him an army to do so, but as he was a Protestant the English, overwhemingly a Protestant people, welcomed him with open arms and there was no resistance at all to the Dutch invasion. This therefore became known as the Glorious Revolution. The main reason that James II was kicked off the Throne was due to his Catholicm, and to this day a British Monarch must always be a Protestant. Despite fighting William III he failed to take back the Throne.
Now the Orange Order have created a new cartoon superhero to bring their organisation into the 21st century....
Orange Order creates superhero
The BBC
Al-Bibisiyah
The Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation
The Orange Order's new superhero is, for the moment, unnamed
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's... well he doesn't have a name yet, but the Orange Order hopes to win a new generation of fans with their own superhero.
The origins of the Orange Order may date from the 17th century battle for supremacy between Protestantism and Catholicism, but they have high hopes for this 21st century makeover.
King William has been an Orange icon for more than 300 years, but it seems the curly wig and pointed hat combo were not doing it for the kids any more.
An Orange Order march
While the unnamed character still sports a sash, the traditional bowler hat has been replaced by a trendy purple cape.
Modern nutrition has also made him a bit more muscular than the comparatively scrawny-looking King Billy.
'Less stuffy'
Orangeman David Hume says the idea is to make themselves more relevant to the young and "appear less stuffy".
King William III, King of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland between 1689 and 1702. He and his army invaded England in 1688, but was surprised to see that the English did nothing to repel the invasion - in fact, they welcomed him. This peaceful invasion is known today as the Glorious Revolution.
"We usually have comic Christmas cards every year, so we decided to ask a graphic artist to come up with something new to represent the institution," he says.
"He features on the Christmas cards as Santa's little helper, but it also has a wider appeal so we've launched a competition for people to come up with a name for him.
The villian: King James II reigned over England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland between 1685 and 1688. Despite being a Catholic, he thought he could reign despite most people being Protestant. Luckily, he was defeated at the Boyne which all but ended his hopes of taking back the Throne
"The institution covers such a wide spectrum age-wise, grandfathers and grandsons are both involved - there is the junior institution up until the age of 16 or 17, so it's something they can hopefully get involved with." Any suggestions can be sent to the Orange Order's headquarters, but be warned, Orangeman has been deemed too obvious.
news.bbc.co.uk
Now the Orange Order have created a new cartoon superhero to bring their organisation into the 21st century....
Orange Order creates superhero
The BBC
Al-Bibisiyah
The Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation
The Orange Order's new superhero is, for the moment, unnamed
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's... well he doesn't have a name yet, but the Orange Order hopes to win a new generation of fans with their own superhero.
The origins of the Orange Order may date from the 17th century battle for supremacy between Protestantism and Catholicism, but they have high hopes for this 21st century makeover.
King William has been an Orange icon for more than 300 years, but it seems the curly wig and pointed hat combo were not doing it for the kids any more.
An Orange Order march
While the unnamed character still sports a sash, the traditional bowler hat has been replaced by a trendy purple cape.
Modern nutrition has also made him a bit more muscular than the comparatively scrawny-looking King Billy.
'Less stuffy'
Orangeman David Hume says the idea is to make themselves more relevant to the young and "appear less stuffy".
King William III, King of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland between 1689 and 1702. He and his army invaded England in 1688, but was surprised to see that the English did nothing to repel the invasion - in fact, they welcomed him. This peaceful invasion is known today as the Glorious Revolution.
"We usually have comic Christmas cards every year, so we decided to ask a graphic artist to come up with something new to represent the institution," he says.
"He features on the Christmas cards as Santa's little helper, but it also has a wider appeal so we've launched a competition for people to come up with a name for him.
The villian: King James II reigned over England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland between 1685 and 1688. Despite being a Catholic, he thought he could reign despite most people being Protestant. Luckily, he was defeated at the Boyne which all but ended his hopes of taking back the Throne
"The institution covers such a wide spectrum age-wise, grandfathers and grandsons are both involved - there is the junior institution up until the age of 16 or 17, so it's something they can hopefully get involved with." Any suggestions can be sent to the Orange Order's headquarters, but be warned, Orangeman has been deemed too obvious.
news.bbc.co.uk