Misplaced Pages

#937062

77-659: The royal house and family is the Orange-Nassau family. According to the Membership to the Royal House Act which was revised in 2002, the members of the royal house are: Princess Beatrix * Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * The membership is lost if the right to succeed to the Dutch throne is lost, e.g. by marrying without parliament’s approval. This applied to several members of

154-651: A monarchy under the House of Orange-Nassau. The dynasty was established as a result of the marriage of Henry III of Nassau-Breda from Germany and Claudia of Châlon-Orange from French Burgundy in 1515. Their son René of Chalon inherited in 1530 the independent and sovereign Principality of Orange from his mother's brother, Philibert of Châlon . As the first Nassau to be the Prince of Orange, René could have used "Orange-Nassau" as his new family name. However, his uncle, in his will, had stipulated that René should continue

231-586: A German consort probably was exacerbated by von Amsberg's former membership in the Hitler Youth under the Nazi regime in his native country, and also his following service in the German Wehrmacht . Beatrix needed permission from the government to marry anyone if she wanted to remain heiress to the throne, but after some argument, it was granted. As the years went by, Prince Claus was fully accepted by

308-608: A few territories like the Free Imperial City of Dortmund , Corvey Abbey and Diocese of Fulda from First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte of the French Republic ( Treaty of Amiens ), which was established as the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda . William V died in 1806. Grandchildren Grandchildren Grandchildren After a repressed Dutch rebel action, Prussian and Cossack troops drove out

385-475: A government to stay in office against the will of Parliament. In 1868, he tried to sell Luxembourg to France , which was the source of a quarrel between Prussia and France . William III had a rather unhappy marriage with Sophie of Württemberg , and his heirs died young. This raised the possibility of the extinction of the House of Orange-Nassau. After the death of Queen Sophie in 1877, William remarried to 20-year-old Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1879; he

462-727: A hereditary dynasty in an age that favoured hereditary rule. The Stuarts and the Bourbons came to power at the same time as the Oranges, the Vasas and Oldenburgs were able to establish a hereditary kingship in Sweden and Denmark, and the Hohenzollerns were able to set themselves on a course to the rule of Germany. The House of Orange was no less gifted than those houses, in fact, some might argue more so, as their ranks included some

539-585: A large scale. His son Philip II inherited his antipathy for the Protestants but not his moderation. Under the reign of Philip, a true persecution of Protestants was initiated and taxes were raised to an outrageous level. Discontent arose and William of Orange (with his vague Lutheran childhood) stood up for the Protestant (mainly Calvinist ) inhabitants of the Netherlands. Things went badly after

616-614: A real court like the Stuarts and Bourbons, French speaking, and extravagant to a scale. It was natural for foreign ambassadors and dignitaries to present themselves to him and consult with him as well as to the States General to which they were officially credited. The marriage policy of the princes, allying themselves twice with the Royal Stuarts, also gave them acceptance into the royal caste of rulers. Besides showing

693-552: A symbol of the Dutch resistance during World War II . The moral authority of the Monarchy was restored because of her rule. After 58 years on the throne as the Queen, Wilhelmina decided to abdicate in favour of her daughter, Juliana. Juliana had the reputation of making the monarchy less "aloof", and under her reign the Monarchy became known as the "cycling monarchy". Members of the royal family were often seen riding bicycles through

770-439: A time, it appeared that the Dutch royal family would die with Wilhelmina. Her half-brother, Prince Alexander , had died in 1884, and no royal babies were born from then until Wilhelmina gave birth to her only child, Juliana , in 1909. The Dutch royal house remained quite small until the later 1930s and the early 1940s, during which time Juliana gave birth to four daughters. Although the House of Orange died out in its male line with

847-776: The Herborner Mark , the Kalenberger Zent and the Court of Heimau ( Löhnberg ). Closely linked to this was the "Lordship of Westerwald", also in Nassau's possession at the time. At the end of the 12th century, the House acquired the Reichshof Wiesbaden , an important base in the southwest. In 1255, after the Counts of Nassau acquired the estates of Weilburg , the sons of Count Henry II divided Nassau for

SECTION 10

#1732765305938

924-645: The Bishopric of Worms . His son, Rupert , built the Nassau Castle there around 1125, declaring himself "Count of Nassau". This title was not officially acknowledged by the Bishop of Worms until 1159 under the rule of Rupert's son, Walram. By 1159, the County of Nassau effectively claimed rights of taxation, toll collection, and justice, at which point it can be considered to become a state. The Nassauers held

1001-648: The Burgundian Dukes of Brabant , first to Anton of Burgundy , and later to his son Jan IV of Brabant . He also would later serve Philip the Good . In 1403, he married the Dutch noblewoman Johanna van Polanen and so inherited lands in the Netherlands, with the Barony of Breda as the core of the Dutch possessions and the family fortune. A nobleman's power was often based on his ownership of vast tracts of land and lucrative offices. It also helped that much of

1078-613: The County of Nassau , as well as properties in France and the Netherlands . The House of Orange-Nassau stems from the younger Ottonian Line. The first of this line to establish himself in the Netherlands was John I, Count of Nassau-Siegen , who married Margaret of the Mark . The real founder of the Nassau fortunes in the Netherlands was John's son, Engelbert I . He became counsellor to

1155-579: The Eighty Years' War started in 1568, but luck turned to his advantage when Protestant rebels attacking from the North Sea captured Brielle , a coastal town in present-day South Holland in 1572. Many cities in Holland began to support William. During the 1570s he had to defend his core territories in Holland several times, but in the 1580s the inland cities in Holland were secure. William of Orange

1232-624: The French invaded Holland in 1795, William V was forced into exile, and he was never to return alive to Holland. After 1795, the House of Orange-Nassau faced a difficult period, surviving in exile at other European courts, especially those of Prussia and Britain. Following the recognition of the Batavian Republic by the 1801 Oranienstein Letters , William V's son William VI renounced the stadtholdership in 1802. In return, he received

1309-721: The Glorious Revolution in England that established parliamentary rule. Similarly, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was instrumental in the Dutch resistance during World War II . Several members of the house served during the Eighty Years war and after as stadtholder ("governor"; Dutch: stadhouder ) during the Dutch Republic . However, in 1815, after a long period as a republic, the Netherlands became

1386-502: The Habsburg Empire to the region. Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda was appointed stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland by Charles of Ghent in the beginning of the 16th century. Hendrik was succeeded by his son René of Chalon in 1538, who had inherited the title of Prince of Orange and the principality of that name from his maternal uncle Philibert of Chalon . In 1544, René died in battle aged 25. His possessions, including

1463-688: The Napoleonic Wars , they were compensated with the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda . Though they lost their German possessions in 1806, the House of Orange-Nassau , through female succession, was the reigning house of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg until 1890 and is still the royal house of the Netherlands . (Siegen, Ginsberg, Haiger, and the Westerwald), Emicho received Nassau-Hadamar and John received Nassau-Dillenburg. However, after

1540-538: The Treaty of Munster was about to be signed, thereby ending the Eighty Years' War, William tried to maintain the powers he had in wartime as military commander. These would necessarily be diminished in peacetime as the army would be reduced, along with his income. This met with great opposition from the regents. When Andries Bicker and Cornelis de Graeff , the great regents of the city of Amsterdam refused some mayors he appointed, he besieged Amsterdam. The siege provoked

1617-600: The Bold and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor , who had married Charles's daughter Mary of Burgundy . In 1496, he was appointed stadtholder of Flanders and by 1498 he had been named President of the Grand Conseil . In 1501, Maximilian named him Lieutenant-General of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands . From that point forward (until his death in 1504), Engelbert was the principal representative of

SECTION 20

#1732765305938

1694-406: The Dutch people. In time, he became one of the most popular members of the Dutch monarchy, and his death in 2002 was widely mourned. On April 30, 1980, Queen Juliana abdicated in favour of her daughter, Beatrix. In the early years of the twenty-first century, the Dutch monarchy remained popular with a large part of the population. Beatrix's eldest son, Willem-Alexander , was born on April 27, 1967;

1771-669: The European House of Nassau , the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe , particularly since William the Silent organised the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) led to an independent Dutch state . William III of Orange led the resistance of the Netherlands and Europe to Louis XIV of France and orchestrated

1848-554: The French in 1813, with the support of the Patriots of 1785 . A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out William V 18 years earlier. However, they were realistic enough to accept that any new government would have to be headed by William V's son, William Frederick (William VI). All agreed that it would be better in the long term for the Dutch to restore William themselves rather than have him imposed by

1925-473: The Netherlands . There are none of the religious connotations to the office as in some other monarchies. A Dutch sovereign is inaugurated rather than crowned in a coronation ceremony. It was initially more of a crowned/hereditary presidency, and a continuation of the status quo ante of the pre-1795 hereditary stadholderate in the Republic . In practice, the current monarch has considerably less power than

2002-587: The Netherlands into an undesirably strong influence from the German Empire that would threaten Dutch independence. Not just Socialists, but now also Anti-Revolutionary politicians including Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper and Liberals such as Samuel van Houten advocated the restoration of the Republic in Parliament in case the marriage remained childless. The birth of Princess Juliana in 1909 put

2079-662: The Netherlands—something between a kingship and a stadholdership. In 1814, he was awarded sovereignty over the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège as well. On March 15, 1815, with the support of the powers gathered at the Congress of Vienna , William proclaimed himself King William I . He was also made grand duke of Luxembourg , and (to assuage French sensitivity by distancing

2156-450: The Prince of Orange was inaugurated as King Willem-Alexander, becoming the Netherlands' first male ruler since 1890. His eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, as heiress apparent to the throne, became Princess of Orange in her own right. Unlike other royal houses, there has always been a separation in the Netherlands between what was owned by the state and used by the House of Orange in their offices as monarch, or previously, stadtholder, and

2233-458: The Republic. Maurits won this power struggle by arranging the judicial murder of Oldebarnevelt. Maurice died unmarried in 1625 and left no legitimate children. He was succeeded by his half-brother Frederick Henry (Dutch: Frederik Hendrik ), youngest son of William I. Maurits urged his successor on his deathbed to marry as soon as possible. A few weeks after Maurits's death, he married Amalia van Solms-Braunfels . Frederick Henry and Amalia were

2310-426: The Silent's brother, but in female line also from himself, as William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz , had married Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau , the fifth daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange in 1652. Following defunct German laws that no longer have relevance due to the end of German nobility, the House of Orange-Nassau(-Dietz) has been extinct since the death of Wilhelmina (1962). Dutch laws and

2387-485: The accession to the thrones of the three kingdoms, he became one of the most powerful sovereigns in Europe, and the only one to defeat Louis XIV of France . William III died childless after a riding accident on March 8, 1702, leaving the main male line of the House of Orange extinct, and leaving Scotland, England and Ireland to his sister-in-law Queen Anne . The house of Orange-Nassau was relatively unlucky in establishing

Dutch royal house - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-457: The actualities of power, rather than the appearances, which increasingly tended to upset the ruling regents of the towns and cities. On being offered the dukedom of Gelderland by the States of that province, William III let the offer lapse as liable to raise too much opposition in the other provinces. The house of Orange was also related by marriage to several of these key European dynasties of

2541-647: The allies. At the invitation of the provisional government, William Frederick returned to the Netherlands on November 30. This move was strongly supported by the United Kingdom, which sought ways to strengthen the Netherlands and deny future French aggressors easy access to the Low Countries' Channel ports. The provisional government offered William the crown. He refused, believing that a stadholdership would give him more power. Thus, on December 6, William proclaimed himself hereditary sovereign prince of

2618-546: The childless death of John, Nassau-Dillenburg (and the towns of Dillenburg, Herborn, and Beilstein) fell to Nassau-Siegen, which adopted the name Nassau-Dillenburg . Siegen and Dillenburg were united until 1606. Louis reunited all Southern Nassau under Weilburg, but his sons divided it again. In 1702, the Nassau-Dietz branch followed the House of Orange that had become extinct with William III of England (d. 1702). The counts of Nassau-Dietz not only descended from William

2695-400: The cities and the countryside under Juliana. A royal marriage controversy occurred in 1966 when Juliana's eldest daughter, the future Queen Beatrix , decided to marry Claus von Amsberg , a German diplomat. The marriage of a member of the royal family to a German was quite controversial in the Netherlands, which had suffered under Nazi German occupation in 1940–45. This reluctance to accept

2772-607: The county again After Nassau-Usingen had inherited Nassau-Ottweiler with former Nassau-Idstein and Nassau-Saarbrücken, it was reunified with Nassau-Weilburg and raised to the Duchy of Nassau in 1806. After the death of Count Otto I, his county was divided between his sons in 1303: In 1504, Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited the county's estates at Breda in the Duchy of Brabant , while his younger brother William became Count of Nassau-Dillenburg in 1516. After

2849-409: The current monarch within two degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to: All children of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau ( Dutch : Huis van Oranje-Nassau , pronounced [ˈɦœys fɑn oːˌrɑɲə ˈnɑsʌu] ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands . A branch of

2926-490: The death of Queen Wilhelmina, it continued in the female line as can be seen in other modern European monarchies, the name "Orange" continues to be used by the Dutch royalty and as evidenced in many patriotic songs, such as " Oranje boven ". The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I , during her reign, and the country was not invaded by Germany , as neighbouring Belgium was. Nevertheless, Queen Wilhelmina became

3003-410: The education of the young prince arose between his mother and his grandmother Amalia (who outlived her husband by 28 years). Amalia wanted an education which was pointed at the resurgence of the House of Orange to power, but Mary wanted a pure English education. The Estates of Holland, under Jan de Witt and Cornelis de Graeff, meddled in the education and made William a "child of state" to be educated by

3080-557: The first immediate male heir to the Dutch throne since the death of his great-granduncle, Prince Alexander, in 1884. Willem-Alexander married Máxima Zorreguieta , an Argentine banker, in 2002; the first commoner ever to marry an heir apparent to the Dutch throne. They are parents of three daughters: Catharina-Amalia , Alexia , and Ariane . After a long struggle with neurological illness, Queen Juliana died on March 20, 2004, and her husband, Prince Bernhard , died on December 1 of that same year. Upon Beatrix's abdication on April 30, 2013,

3157-505: The first time. Walram II received the county of Nassau-Weilburg . From 1328 on, his younger brother, Otto I , held the estates north of the Lahn river, namely the County of Nassau-Siegen and Nassau-Dillenburg . The boundary line was essentially the Lahn, with Otto receiving the northern part of the county with the cities of Siegen , Dillenburg , Herborn and Haiger and Walram retaining

Dutch royal house - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-749: The forces of King Louis XIV of France under François Adhémar de Monteil, Count of Grignan , in the Franco-Dutch War in 1672, and again in August 1682. With the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the wars of Louis XIV, the territory was formally ceded to France by Frederick I in 1713. John William Friso drowned in 1711 in the Hollands Diep near Moerdijk , and he left his posthumously born son William IV, Prince of Orange . That son succeeded at that time his father as stadtholder in Friesland (as

3311-574: The foremost statesmen and captains of the time. A 104 years separated the death of William the Silent from the accession of his great-grandson, William III, as King of England. Although the institutions of the United Provinces became more republican and entrenched as time went on, William the Silent had been offered the countship of Holland and Zealand, and only his assassination prevented his accession to those offices. This fact did not go unforgotten by his successors. The Prince of Orange

3388-538: The invasion and seized royal power. He became more powerful than his predecessors from the Eighty Years' War. In 1677, William married his cousin Mary Stuart , the daughter of the future king James II of England . In 1688, William embarked on a mission to depose his Catholic father-in-law from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. He and his wife were crowned the King and Queen of England on April 11, 1689. With

3465-648: The lands that the House of Orange-Nassau controlled sat under one of the commercial and mercantile centres of the world (see below under Lands and Titles ). The importance of the family grew throughout the 15th and 16th centuries as they became councilors, generals and stadholders of the Habsburgs (see armorial of the great nobles of the Burgundian Netherlands and list of knights of the Golden Fleece ). Engelbert II of Nassau served Charles

3542-581: The other hand, the King of Prussia, Frederick William III —brother-in-law and first cousin of William I, had beginning from 1813 managed to establish his rule in Luxembourg, which he regarded as his inheritance from Anne, Duchess of Luxembourg who had died over three centuries earlier. At the Congress of Vienna, the two brothers-in-law agreed to a trade—Frederick William received William I's ancestral lands while William I received Luxembourg. Both got what

3619-509: The parents of a son and several daughters. These daughters were married to important noble houses such as the house of Hohenzollern , but also to the Frisian Nassaus, who were stadtholders in Friesland . His only son, William , married Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange , the eldest daughter of Charles I of England . These dynastic moves were the work of Amalia. Frederick Henry died in 1647 and his son succeeded him. As

3696-803: The passing of Orange to a Dutch cousin and years of squabbles over the same, while securing the British throne to the more distantly related House of Hanover .   Prince of Orange    Member of House of Orange     King of France     Prince or Princess of France     King of England / House of Stuart     Prince/Princess of England     House of Palatine     King of Great Britain / House of Hanover     Elector of Brandenburg & King in Prussia / House of Hohenzollern   The regents found that they had suffered under

3773-413: The personal investments and fortune of the House of Orange. As monarch , the King or Queen has use of, but not ownership of, the Huis ten Bosch as a residence and Noordeinde Palace as a work palace. In addition, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is also at the disposal of the monarch (although it is only used for state visits and is open to the public when not in use for that purpose). Soestdijk Palace

3850-478: The powerful leadership of William III as the ruler of the Netherlands and king in the British Isles and they left the stadtholdership vacant for the second time. As William III died childless in 1702 the principality became a matter of dispute between Prince John William Friso of Nassau-Dietz of the Frisian Nassaus and King Frederick I of Prussia , who both claimed the title Prince of Orange . Both descended from Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange . The King of Prussia

3927-533: The present-day Dutch territory. In 1585 Maurits was elected stadtholder of the provinces of Holland and Zealand as his father's successor and as a counterpose to Elizabeth's delegate, the Earl of Leicester . In 1587 he was appointed captain-general (military commander-in-chief) of the armies of the Dutch Republic . In the early years of the 17th century there arose quarrels between stadtholder and oligarchist regents —a group of powerful merchants led by Johan van Oldebarnevelt —because Maurits wanted more powers in

SECTION 50

#1732765305938

4004-404: The principality and title, passed by his will as sovereign prince to his paternal cousin, William I of Orange . From then on, the family members called themselves "Orange-Nassau." Although Charles V pretended to resist the Protestant Reformation , he ruled the Dutch territories wisely with moderation and regard for local customs, and he did not persecute his Protestant subjects on

4081-428: The question to rest. Wilhelmina was queen of the Netherlands for 58 years, from 1890 to 1948. Because she was only 10 years old in 1890, her mother, Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont , was the regent until Wilhelmina's 18th birthday in 1898. Since females were not allowed to hold power in Luxembourg, due to Salic law , Luxembourg passed to the House of Nassau-Weilburg , a collateral line to the House of Orange-Nassau. For

4158-429: The real power to the States General. He took this step to prevent the Revolutions of 1848 from spreading to his country. William II died in 1849. He was succeeded by his son, William III . A rather conservative , even reactionary man, William III was sharply opposed to the new 1848 constitution. He continually tried to form governments that were dependent on his support, even though it was prohibitively difficult for

4235-402: The relationships among the family, the family tree below also points out an extraordinary run of bad luck. In the 211 years from the death of William the Silent to the conquest by France, there was only one time that a son directly succeeded his father as Prince of Orange, Stadholder and Captain-General without a minority (William II). When the Oranges were in power, they also tended to settle for

4312-445: The reputation of being one of the wealthier royal houses in the world, largely due to their business investments in Royal Dutch Shell , Philips electronics company, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines , and the Holland-America Line . How significant these investments are is a matter of conjecture, as their private finances, unlike their public stipends as monarch, are not open to public scrutiny. County of Nassau The County of Nassau

4389-413: The royal family: In addition the membership is lost when a person, who was formerly a member, loses his direct right to succession because he or she is no longer related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to: Membership is also lost to persons who are still in the direct line of succession, but are no longer related to

4466-501: The same time. After the Nassau-Dietz branch took over, the House of Orange-Nassau had acquired the following territories by the end of the 18th century in the Holy Roman Empire, located in present-day Germany: Around 1742, William IV of Orange established the Hochdeutsche Hofdepartement, an administrative centre located in The Hague inside the Dutch Republic, which looked after the family's possessions in Germany. William IV died in 1751, leaving his three-year-old son, William V , as

4543-436: The section south of the river, including the cities of Weilburg and Idstein . Walram's son Adolf became King of Germany in 1292. His son Count Gerlach abdicated in 1344 and the county was divided under his sons in 1355       fell back to Nassau-Weilburg in 1605 In 1605, all parts of Nassau-Weilburg were again unified under Count Louis II ; however, after his death in 1627, his sons divided

4620-556: The son of Henry III, René of Châlon died in 1544, Count William's eldest son William the Silent became Prince of Orange and Lord of Breda, Stadtholder in the Low Countries from 1559 on. His younger brother, John VI , again reunited all Nassau-Dillenburg possessions in 1561, though the county was again divided after his death in 1606. The Counts of Nassau-Dietz, descendants of William Frederick were stadtholders of Friesland , Groningen and Drenthe and Princes of Orange from 1702 on. When they lost their Dutch possessions during

4697-410: The stadtholder. As king of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , William tried to establish one common culture. This provoked resistance in the southern parts of the country, which had been culturally separate from the north since 1581. He was considered an enlightened despot . The Prince of Orange held rights to Nassau lands (Dillenburg, Dietz, Beilstein, Hadamar, Siegen) in central Germany. On

SECTION 60

#1732765305938

4774-415: The stadtholder. Since William V was still a minor, the regents reigned for him. He grew up to be an indecisive person, a character defect which would come to haunt William V his whole life. His marriage to Wilhelmina of Prussia relieved this defect to some degree. In 1787, Willem V survived an attempt to depose him by the Patriots (anti-Orangist revolutionaries) after the Kingdom of Prussia intervened . When

4851-429: The stadtholdership had been hereditary in that province since 1664), and Groningen . William IV was proclaimed the stadtholder of Guelders , Overijssel , and Utrecht in 1722. When the French invaded Holland in 1747, William IV was appointed stadtholder in Holland and Zeeland as well in the Orangist revolution . The position of stadtholder was made hereditary in both the male and the female lines in all provinces at

4928-418: The state. The doctrine used in this education was keeping William from the throne. William became indeed very docile to the wishes of the regents and the Estates. The Dutch Republic was attacked by France and England in 1672. The military function of stadtholder was no longer superfluous, and with the support of the Orangists , William was restored, and he became the stadtholder. William successfully repelled

5005-438: The territory between the Taunus and the Westerwald at the lower and middle Lahn. By 1128, they acquired the bailiwick of the Bishopric of Worms , which had numerous rights in the area, and thus created a link between their heritage at the lower Lahn and their possessions near Siegen . In the middle of the 12th century, this relationship was strengthened by the acquisition of parts of the Hesse-Thüringen feudal kingdom, namely

5082-515: The time, Stuart , Bourbon , and Palatine , Hannover and Hohenzollern . These alliances had consequences for all of them. William III used his double relationship with the Stuarts to justify his co-equal status with his wife on the English throne after the Glorious Revolution. As an arrière petit fils de France , albeit in the female line, he felt doubly insulted by his cousin Louis XIV 's occupation and seizure of his sovereign principality of Orange . His death without children of his own ensured

5159-442: The title " Count of Nassau ". In 1255 the Nassau possessions were split between Walram and Otto , the sons of Count Henry II . The descendants of Walram were known as the Walram Line, and they became Dukes of Nassau and, in 1890, Grand Dukes of Luxembourg . This line also included Adolph of Nassau , who was elected King of the Romans in 1292. The descendants of Otto became known as the Ottonian Line, and they inherited parts of

5236-413: The title from the now-defunct principality ) the title 'Prince of Orange' was changed to 'Prince of Oranje'. The two countries remained separate, though they shared a common monarch via a personal union . William had thus fulfilled the House of Orange's three-century quest to unite the Low Countries. The institution of the monarch in the Netherlands is considered an office under the Constitution of

5313-507: The use of the name Châlon-Orange. After René's death in 1544, his cousin William of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited all of his lands. This "William I of Orange", in English better known as William the Silent , became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau. Nassau Castle was founded around 1100 by Dudo , Count of Laurenburg , the founder of the House of Nassau . In 1120, Dudo's sons and successors, Counts Rupert I and Arnold I , established themselves at Nassau Castle, taking for themselves

5390-407: The wrath of the regents. William died of smallpox on November 6, 1650, leaving only a posthumous son, William III (*November 14, 1650). Since the Prince of Orange upon the death of William II, William III, was an infant, the regents used this opportunity to leave the stadtholdership vacant. This inaugurated the era in Dutch history that is known as the First Stadtholderless Period . A quarrel about

5467-442: Was 41 years older than her. On 31 August 1880, Queen Emma gave birth to their daughter and the royal heiress, Wilhelmina . There were considerably more concerns over the royal dynasty's future, when Wilhelmina's marriage with Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (since 1901) repeatedly resulted in miscarriages . Had the House of Orange died out, the throne would likely have passed to Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz , leading

5544-540: Was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation . Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau . Nassau, originally a county, developed on the lower Lahn river in what is known today as Rhineland-Palatinate . The town of Nassau was founded in 915. Dudo of Laurenburg held Nassau as a fiefdom as granted by

5621-408: Was also not just another noble among equals in the Netherlands. First, he was the traditional leader of the nation in war and in rebellion against Spain. He was uniquely able to transcend the local issues of the cities, towns and provinces. He was also a sovereign ruler in his own right (see Prince of Orange article). This gave him a great deal of prestige, even in a republic. He was the center of

5698-453: Was considered a threat to Spanish rule in the area and was assassinated in 1584 by a hired killer sent by Philip. William was succeeded by his second son Maurits , a Protestant who proved an excellent military commander. His abilities as a commander and the lack of strong leadership in Spain after the death of Philip II (1598) gave Maurits excellent opportunities to conquer large parts of

5775-543: Was geographically nearer to their centre of power. In 1830, most of the southern portion of William's realm—the former Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric—declared independence as Belgium. William fought a disastrous war until 1839 when he was forced to settle for peace. With his realm halved, he decided to abdicate in 1840 in favour of his son, William II . Although William II shared his father's conservative inclinations, in 1848 he accepted an amended constitution that significantly curbed his own authority and transferred

5852-459: Was his grandson through his mother, Countess Luise Henriette of Nassau . Frederick Henry in his will had appointed this line as successor in case the main House of Orange-Nassau were to die out. John William Friso was a great-grandson of Frederick Henry (through Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau , another daughter) and was appointed heir in William III's will. The principality was captured by

5929-504: Was sold to private investors in 2017. The crown jewels , comprising the crown , orb and sceptre , Sword of State , royal banner, and ermine mantle have been placed in the Crown Property Trust. The trust also holds the items used on ceremonial occasions, such as the carriages, table silver, and dinner services. The Royal House is also exempt from income, inheritance, and personal tax . The House of Orange has long had

#937062