TheHouse of Orange-Nassau (Dutch:Huis van Oranje-Nassau,pronounced[ˈɦœysfɑnoːˌrɑɲəˈnɑsʌu])[a], also known as theHouse of Orange or rarely theFourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held thePrincipality of Orange, is the currentreigning house of theNetherlands. A branch of the EuropeanHouse of Nassau, the house has played a central role in thepolitics and government of the Netherlands and elsewhere inEurope, particularly sinceWilliam the Silent organised theDutch Revolt againstSpanish rule, which after theEighty Years' War (1568–1648) led to anindependent Dutch state.William III of Orange led the resistance of the Netherlands and Europe toLouis XIV of France and orchestrated theGlorious Revolution in England that established parliamentary rule. Similarly,Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was instrumental in theDutch resistance duringWorld War II.
Several members of the house served during the Eighty Years war and after asstadtholder ("governor"; Dutch:stadhouder) during theDutch Republic. However, in 1815, after a long period as a republic, the Netherlands became amonarchy under the House of Orange-Nassau.
The dynasty was established as a result of the marriage ofHenry III of Nassau-Breda fromGermany andClaudia of Chalon-Orange from FrenchBurgundy in 1515. Their sonRené of Chalon inherited in 1530 the independent and sovereignPrincipality of Orange from his mother's brother,Philibert of Chalon. 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 the use of the name Chalon-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 asWilliam the Silent, became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau.[1]: 10
Nassau Castle was founded around 1100 byDudo, Count ofLaurenburg, the founder of theHouse of Nassau. In 1120, Dudo's sons and successors, CountsRupert I andArnold I, established themselves at Nassau Castle, taking for themselves the title "Count of Nassau". In 1255 the Nassau possessions were split betweenWalram andOtto, the sons of CountHenry II. The descendants of Walram were known as the Walram Line, and they becameDukes of Nassau and, in 1890,Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. This line also includedAdolph of Nassau, who was electedKing of the Romans in 1292. The descendants of Otto became known as the Ottonian Line, and they inherited parts of theCounty of Nassau, as well as properties inFrance and theNetherlands.[citation needed]
The House of Orange-Nassau stems from the younger Ottonian Line. The first of this line to establish himself in the Netherlands wasJohn I, Count of Nassau-Siegen, who marriedMargaret of the Mark. The real founder of the Nassau fortunes in the Netherlands was John's son,Engelbert I. He became counsellor to theBurgundianDukes of Brabant, first toAnton of Burgundy, and later to his sonJan IV of Brabant. He also would later servePhilip the Good. In 1403, he married the Dutch noblewomanJohanna van Polanen and so inherited lands in the Netherlands, with theBarony ofBreda as the core of the Dutch possessions and the family fortune.[2]: 35
A nobleman's power was often based on his ownership of vast tracts of land and lucrative offices. It also helped that much of the lands that the House of Orange-Nassau controlled sat under one of the commercial and mercantile centres of the world (see below underLands and Titles). The importance of the family grew throughout the 15th and 16th centuries as they became councilors, generals and stadholders of theHabsburgs (seearmorial of the great nobles of the Burgundian Netherlands andlist of knights of the Golden Fleece).Engelbert II of Nassau servedCharles the Bold andMaximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, who had married Charles's daughterMary of Burgundy. In 1496, he was appointedstadtholder of Flanders and by 1498 he had been named President of theGrand Conseil. In 1501, Maximilian named him Lieutenant-General of theSeventeen Provinces of theNetherlands. From that point forward (until his death in 1504), Engelbert was the principal representative of theHabsburg Empire to the region.Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda was appointedstadtholder ofHolland andZeeland byCharles of Ghent in the beginning of the 16th century. Hendrik was succeeded by his sonRené of Chalon in 1538, who had inherited the title ofPrince of Orange and theprincipality of that name from his maternal unclePhilibert of Chalon. In 1544, René died in battle aged 25. His possessions, including the principality and title, passed by his will assovereignprince to his paternal cousin,William I of Orange. From then on, the family members called themselves "Orange-Nassau."[1]: 8 [2]: 37 [3]: vol3, pp3-4 [4]: 37, 107, 139
AlthoughCharles V pretended to resist theProtestant Reformation, he ruled the Dutch territories wisely with moderation and regard for local customs, and he did not persecute hisProtestant subjects on a large scale. His sonPhilip 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 vagueLutheran childhood) stood up for the Protestant (mainlyCalvinist) inhabitants of the Netherlands. Things went badly after theEighty Years' War started in 1568, but luck turned to his advantage when Protestant rebels attacking from the North Sea capturedBrielle, a coastal town in present-daySouth 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 was considered a threat to Spanish rule in the area and was assassinated in 1584 by a hired killer sent by Philip.[3]: vol3, p177 [4]: 216 [5]
William was succeeded by his second sonMaurits, a Protestant who proved an excellent military commander. His abilities as a commander and the lack of strong leadership inSpain after the death of Philip II (1598) gave Maurits excellent opportunities to conquer large parts of the present-day Dutch territory.[3]: vol 3, pp243-253 [6] In 1585 Maurits was electedstadtholder of the provinces of Holland and Zealand as his father's successor and as a counterpose to Elizabeth's delegate, theEarl of Leicester. In 1587 he was appointed captain-general (military commander-in-chief) of the armies of theDutch Republic. In the early years of the 17th century, there arose quarrels between stadtholder andoligarchistregents—a group of powerful merchants led byJohan van Oldebarnevelt—because Maurits wanted more powers in the Republic. Maurits won this power struggle by arranging the judicial murder of Oldebarnevelt.[4]: 421–432, 459 [6]
Maurice died unmarried in 1625 and left no legitimate children. He was succeeded by his half-brotherFrederick 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 marriedAmalia van Solms-Braunfels.Frederick Henry and Amalia were the parents of a son and several daughters. These daughters were married to important noble houses such as the house ofHohenzollern, but also to the Frisian Nassaus, who were stadtholders inFriesland. His only son,William, marriedMary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter ofCharles I of England. These dynastic moves were the work of Amalia.[1]: 72–74 [7]: 61
_-_Four_generations_Princes_of_Orange_-_William_I%2c_Maurice_and_Frederick_Henry%2c_William_II_and_William_III_-_1662-1666.jpg)
Frederick Henry died in 1647 and his son succeeded him. As theTreaty 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. WhenAndries Bicker andCornelis de Graeff, the great regents of the city ofAmsterdam refused some mayors he appointed, he besieged Amsterdam. The siege provoked 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 theFirst Stadtholderless Period.[8] A quarrel about 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, underJan de Witt and Cornelis de Graeff, meddled in the education and made William a "child of state" to be educated by 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.[7][8]
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 theOrangists, William was restored, and he became the stadtholder. William successfully repelled the invasion and seized royal power. He became more powerful than his predecessors from the Eighty Years' War.[7][8] In 1677, William married his cousinMary Stuart, the daughter of the future kingJames 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 the accession to the thrones of the three kingdoms, he became one of the most powerful sovereigns in Europe, and the only one to defeatLouis XIV of France.[7] 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-lawQueen Anne.
The house of Orange-Nassau was relatively unlucky in establishing a hereditary dynasty in an age that favoured hereditary rule. TheStuarts and theBourbons came to power at the same time as the Oranges, theVasas andOldenburgs were able to establish a hereditary kingship in Sweden and Denmark, and theHohenzollerns 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 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 theUnited 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.[1]: 28–31, 64, 71, 93, 139–141
ThePrince of Orange 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 (seePrince of Orange article). This gave him a great deal of prestige, even in a republic. He was the center of 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 theStates 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.[9]: 76–77, 80
Besides showing 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 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.[9]: 75–83
!["The Nassau Cavalcade", members of the House of Orange-Nassau on parade in 1621 from an engraving by Willem Delff. From left to right in the first row: Prince Maurice, Prince Philip William and Prince Frederick Henry, between Maurice and Frederick Henry is William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg.[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWillem_Jacobsz._Delff_003.jpg)
The house of Orange was also related by marriage to several of these key European dynasties of the time,Stuart,Bourbon, andPalatine,Hannover andHohenzollern. 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 anarrière petit fils de France, albeit in the female line, he felt doubly insulted by his cousinLouis XIV's occupation and seizure of his sovereignprincipality of Orange. His death without children of his own ensured the passing of Orange to a Dutch cousin and years of squabbles over the same, while securing the British throne to the more distantly relatedHouse of Hanover.
The regents found that they had suffered under 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 PrinceJohn William Friso of Nassau-Dietz of the Frisian Nassaus and KingFrederick I of Prussia, who both claimed the titlePrince of Orange. Both descended fromFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange. The King of Prussia 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 (throughCountess Albertine Agnes of Nassau, another daughter) and was appointed heir in William III's will. The principality was captured by the forces ofKing Louis XIV of France underFrançois Adhémar de Monteil, Count of Grignan, in theFranco-Dutch War in 1672, and again in August 1682. With theTreaty of Utrecht that ended the wars of Louis XIV, the territory was formally ceded toFrance by Frederick I in 1713.[2]: 1 John William Friso drowned in 1711 in theHollands Diep nearMoerdijk, and he left his posthumously born sonWilliam IV, Prince of Orange. That son succeeded at that time his father as stadtholder inFriesland (as the stadtholdership had been hereditary in that province since 1664), andGroningen. William IV was also proclaimed the stadtholder ofGuelders in 1722. When the French invaded Holland in 1747, William IV was appointed stadtholder inHolland,Zeeland,Overijssel andUtrecht as well in theOrangist revolution. The position of stadtholder was made hereditary in both the male and the female lines in all provinces at the same time.[1]: 148–151, 170
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:[citation needed]
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.[11]
William IV died in 1751, leaving his three-year-old son,William V, as 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 thePatriots (anti-Orangist revolutionaries) after theKingdom of Prussia intervened. When theFrench invaded Holland in 1795, William V was forced into exile, and he was never to return alive to Holland.[1]: 228–229 [3]: vol5, 289
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 theBatavian Republic by the 1801Oranienstein Letters, William V's son William VI renounced the stadtholdership in 1802. In return, he received a few territories like theFree Imperial City of Dortmund,Corvey Abbey andDiocese of Fulda from First ConsulNapoleon Bonaparte of theFrench Republic (Treaty of Amiens), which was established as thePrincipality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda.[12] William V died in 1806.[13]
| Dutch royalty House of Orange-Nassau |
|---|
 |
| King William I |
Children and grandchildren Children Grandchildren
|
| King William II |
| King William III |
Children |
| Queen Wilhelmina |
Children Children |
| Queen Juliana |
Children and grandchildren |
| Queen Beatrix |
Children and grandchildren |
| King Willem-Alexander |
Children |
After a repressed Dutch rebel action, Prussian and Cossack troops drove out the French in 1813. A provisional government was formed, some of those 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 the allies.[1]: 230
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 himselfhereditary sovereign prince of the Netherlands—something between a kingship and a stadholdership. In 1814, he was awarded sovereignty over the Austrian Netherlands and thePrince-Bishopric of Liège as well. On March 15, 1815, with the support of the powers gathered at theCongress of Vienna, William proclaimed himselfKing William I. He was also made grand duke ofLuxembourg, and (to assuage French sensitivity by distancing the title from thenow-defunct principality) the title 'Prince of Orange' was changed to 'Prince of Oranje'.[14]The two countries remained separate, though they shared a common monarch via apersonal union. William had thus fulfilled the House of Orange's three-century quest to unite the Low Countries.[3]: vol5, 398
The institution of themonarch in the Netherlands is considered an office under theConstitution of the Netherlands.[15] There are none of the religious connotations to the office as in some other monarchies.[citation needed] A Dutch sovereign is inaugurated rather than crowned in acoronation ceremony.[citation needed] It was initially more of a crowned/hereditary presidency, and a continuation of the status quo ante of the pre-1795 hereditarystadholderate in theRepublic.[citation needed] In practice, the current monarch has considerably less power than the stadtholder.[citation needed]
As king of theUnited 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 anenlightened despot.[3]: vol5, 399
The Prince of Orange held rights to Nassau lands (Dillenburg, Dietz, Beilstein, Hadamar, Siegen) in central Germany. On 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 fromAnne, 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 was geographically nearer to their centre of power.[3]: vol5, 392
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 the real power to the States General. He took this step to prevent theRevolutions of 1848 from spreading to his country.[3]: vol5, 455–463
William II died in 1849. He was succeeded by his son,William III. A ratherconservative, 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 a government to stay in office against the will of Parliament. In 1868, he tried to sellLuxembourg toFrance, which was the source of a quarrel betweenPrussia andFrance.[3]: vol5, 483
William III had a rather unhappy marriage withSophie 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-oldEmma of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1879; he was 41 years older than her. On 31 August 1880, Queen Emma gave birth to their daughter and the royal heiress,Wilhelmina.[3]: vol5, 497–498 There were considerably more concerns over the royal dynasty's future, when Wilhelmina's marriage withDuke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (since 1901) repeatedly resulted inmiscarriages. Had the House of Orange died out, the throne would likely have passed toPrince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz, leading the Netherlands into an undesirably strong influence from theGerman Empire that would threaten Dutch independence.[16] Not just Socialists, but now alsoAnti-Revolutionary politicians including Prime MinisterAbraham Kuyper and Liberals such asSamuel van Houten advocated the restoration of the Republic in Parliament in case the marriage remained childless.[17] The birth ofPrincess Juliana in 1909 put the question to rest.[17]
Wilhelmina was queen of theNetherlands 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 toSalic law, Luxembourg passed to the House ofNassau-Weilburg, a collateral line to the House of Orange-Nassau. For 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 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[3]: vol5, 507–508 and as evidenced in many patriotic songs, such as "Oranje boven".[citation needed]
The Netherlands remained neutral inWorld War I, during her reign, and the country was not invaded byGermany, as neighbouringBelgium was.[18]
Nevertheless, Queen Wilhelmina became a symbol of the Dutch resistance duringWorld War II. Themoral 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 ridingbicycles through the cities and the countryside under Juliana.[18]
Aroyal marriage controversy occurred in 1966 when Juliana's eldest daughter, the futureQueen Beatrix, decided to marryClaus 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 a German consort probably was exacerbated by von Amsberg's former membership in theHitler Youth under the Nazi regime in his native country, and also his following service in the GermanWehrmacht. 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 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.[18]
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; the first immediate male heir to the Dutch throne since the death of his great-granduncle, Prince Alexander, in 1884. Willem-Alexander marriedMáxima Zorreguieta, anArgentine 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, andAriane. 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.[18]
Upon Beatrix's abdication on April 30, 2013, 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, becamePrincess of Orange in her own right.[18]
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 the personal investments and fortune of the House of Orange.[citation needed]
Asmonarch, the King or Queen has use of, but not ownership of, theHuis ten Bosch as a residence andNoordeinde Palace as a work palace. In addition, theRoyal 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 was sold to private investors in 2017.Thecrown jewels, comprising thecrown,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.[19] The Royal House is alsoexempt from income, inheritance, and personal tax.[20][21]
The House of Orange has long had the reputation of being one of the wealthier royal houses in the world, largely due to their business investments inRoyal Dutch Shell,Philips electronics company,KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, and theHolland-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.[22]
As late as 2001, the fortune of the Royal Family was estimated by various sources (Forbes magazine) at $3.2 billion. Most of the wealth was reported to come from the family's longstanding stake in theRoyal Dutch/Shell Group. At one time, the Oranges reportedly owned as much as 25% of the oil company; their stake is in 2001 was estimated at a minimum of 2%, worth $2.7 billion on the May 21 cutoff date for the Billionaires issue. The family also was estimated to have a 1% stake in financial services firmABN-AMRO.[23][24]
The royal family's fortune seems to have been hit by declines in real estate and equities after 2008. They were also rumored to have lost up to $100 million whenBernard Madoff'sPonzi scheme collapsed, though the royal house denies the allegations.[25] In 2009,Forbes estimated Queen Beatrix's wealth at US$300 million.[26] This could also have been due to splitting the fortune between Queen Beatrix and her 3 sisters, as there is no right of the eldest to inherit the whole property. A surge in export revenue, recovery in real estate and strong stock market have helped steady the royal family's fortunes, but uncertainty over the new government and future austerity measures needed to bring budget deficits in line may dampen future prospects. In July 2010,Forbes magazine estimated her net worth at $200 million[22] This estimate was unchanged in April 2011.[27]
| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
William I
| (1533-04-24)24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584(1584-07-10) (aged 51) | 1559 | 1584 | Stadtholder[28] | Orange-Nassau | |
Maurice
| (1567-11-14)14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625(1625-04-23) (aged 57) | 1585 | 1625 | Stadtholder,[29] son ofWilliam I | Orange-Nassau |  |
Frederick Henry
| (1584-01-29)29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647(1647-03-14) (aged 63) | 1625 | 1647 | Stadtholder,[30] son ofWilliam I | Orange-Nassau |  |
William II
| (1626-05-27)27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650(1650-11-06) (aged 24) | 14 March 1647 | 6 November 1650 | Stadtholder,[31] son ofFrederick Henry | Orange-Nassau |  |
William III
| (1650-11-04)4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702(1702-03-08) (aged 51) | 4 July 1672 | 8 March 1702 | Stadtholder,[32] son ofWilliam II[33] | Orange-Nassau | .jpg) |
William IV
| (1711-09-01)1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751(1751-10-22) (aged 40) | 1 September 1711 (under the regency ofMarie Louise until 1731) | 22 October 1751 | Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands,[34] son ofJohn William Friso | Orange-Nassau | %2c_prins_van_Oranje-Nassau_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-887.jpeg) |
William V
| (1748-03-08)8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806(1806-04-09) (aged 58) | 22 October 1751 | 9 April 1806 | Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands, son ofWilliam IV, succeeded by his sonKing William I (->Principality of the Netherlands (1813–1815) | Orange-Nassau |  |
Note:[35]
| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John VI
| (1536-11-22)22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606(1606-10-08) (aged 69) | 1578 | 1581 | Stadtholder,[36] brother ofWilliam I | Nassau-Dillenburg |  |
William Louis
| (1560-03-13)13 March 1560 – 31 May 1620(1620-05-31) (aged 60) | 1584 | 1620 | Stadtholder,[37] son ofJohn VI | Nassau-Dillenburg |  |
| Ernest Casimir I | (1573-12-22)22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632(1632-06-02) (aged 58) | 1620 | 1632 | Stadtholder,[38] son ofJohn VI | Nassau | .jpg) |
| Henry Casimir I | (1612-01-21)21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640(1640-07-13) (aged 28) | 1632 | 1640 | Stadtholder,[39] son ofErnest Casimir I | Nassau-Dietz |  |
| William Frederick | (1613-08-07)7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664(1664-10-31) (aged 51) | 1640 | 1664 | Stadtholder,[40] son ofErnest Casimir I | Nassau |  |
| Henry Casimir II | (1657-01-18)18 January 1657 – 25 March 1696(1696-03-25) (aged 39) | 18 January 1664 | 25 March 1696 | Hereditary Stadtholder,[41] son ofWilliam Frederick | Nassau-Dietz |  |
| John William Friso | (1687-08-04)4 August 1687 – 14 July 1711(1711-07-14) (aged 23) | 25 March 1696 | 14 July 1711 | Hereditary Stadtholder,[42] son ofHenry Casimir II, succeeded by his sonWilliam IV of Orange-Nassau, Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands (->Stadtholderate under the House of Orange-Nassau | Nassau-Dietz, Orange-Nassau | _by_Lancelot_Volders.jpg) |
| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Frederick | (1772-08-24)24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843(1843-12-12) (aged 71) | 6 December 1813 | 16 March 1815 | Raised Netherlands to status of kingdom in 1815, son of Stadtholder William V | Orange-Nassau | %2c_souverein_vorst_der_Verenigde_Nederlanden%2c_later_koning_der_Nederlanden_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1519.jpeg) |
| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William I | (1772-08-24)24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843(1843-12-12) (aged 71) | 16 March 1815 | 7 October 1840 | Son of the last StadtholderWilliam V | Orange-Nassau |  |
| William II | (1792-12-06)6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849(1849-03-17) (aged 56) | 7 October 1840 | 17 March 1849 | Son of William I | Orange-Nassau |  |
| William III | (1817-02-17)17 February 1817 – 23 November 1890(1890-11-23) (aged 73) | 17 March 1849 | 23 November 1890 | Son of William II | Orange-Nassau | %2c_koning_der_Nederlanden%2c_Nicolaas_Pieneman%2c_1856_-_Rijksmuseum.jpg) |
| Wilhelmina | (1880-08-31)31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962(1962-11-28) (aged 82) | 23 November 1890 | 4 September 1948 | Daughter of William III | Orange-Nassau |  |
| Juliana | (1909-04-30)30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004(2004-03-20) (aged 94) | 4 September 1948 | 30 April 1980 | Daughter of Wilhelmina | Orange-Nassau |  |
| Beatrix | (1938-01-31)31 January 1938 (age 87) | 30 April 1980 | 30 April 2013 | Daughter of Juliana | Orange-Nassau |  |
| Willem-Alexander | (1967-04-27)27 April 1967 (age 58) | 30 April 2013 | Son of Beatrix | Orange-Nassau |  |
| Dutch royal family |
|
Extended family Princess Irene
Princess Margriet*
|
| * Member of theDutch royal house |
Under Dutch law, there is a distinction between the royal family and theDutch royal house. Whereas 'royal family' refers to the entire Orange-Nassau family, only a small subgroup of it constitutes the royal house. By the Royal House Membership Act 2002, membership of the royal house is limited to:[18][43]
The royal house and family is the Orange-Nassau family.[44]
Members of the Royal House lose their membership (and thereby, designation as prince or princess of the Netherlands) if they lose the membership of the Royal House on the succession of a new monarch (not being in the second degree of sanguinity to the monarch anymore, Article 1a), or by royal decree approved by the Council of State (Article 5).[43] This last scenario could happen, for example, if a royal house member marries without the consent of the Dutch Parliament.[citation needed] For example, this happened withPrince Friso in 2004, when he marriedMabel Wisse Smit.[citation needed]
The lineage of theHouse of Nassau can be traced back to the 10th century.
| Family tree of the House of Nassau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The following family tree is compiled from Wikipedia and the reference cited in the note[45]
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A detailed family tree can be found here. A detailedfamily tree of the House of Orange-Nassau from the 15th century can be found on the Dutch Wikipedia atDutch monarchs family tree.
| A summary family tree of the House of Orange-Nassau[46] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From the joining of thehouse of Nassau-Breda/Dillenburg and theHouse of Chalon-Arlay-Orange to the end of the Dutch Republic is shown below. The family spawned many famous statesmen and generals, including two of the acknowledged "first captains of their age",Maurice of Nassau and theMarshal de Turenne.
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The main house of Orange-Nassau also spawned several illegitimate branches. These branches contributed to the political and economic history of England and the Netherlands.Justinus van Nassau was the only extramarital child ofWilliam of Orange. He was a Dutch army commander known for unsuccessfullydefending Breda against the Spanish, and the depiction of his surrender on the famous picture byDiego Velázquez,The Surrender of Breda.Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd was a younger illegitimate son ofPrince Maurice andMargaretha van Mechelen. His descendants were later created Counts of Nassau-LaLecq. One of his sons was the famous generalHenry de Nassau, Lord of Overkirk,King William III'sMaster of the Horse, and one of the most trusted generals ofJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. His descendants became theEarls of Grantham in England.Frederick van Nassau, Lord of Zuylestein, an illegitimate son ofFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange, gave rise to theEarls of Rochford in England. The4th earl of Rochford was a famous English diplomat and a statesman.
In 1815, William VI of Orange became King of the Netherlands. This summary genealogical tree shows how the current Royal house of Orange-Nassau is related:[18]
William I, 1772–1843, King of the Netherlands, 1815–1840.svg) .svg) | Wilhelmina of Prussia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William II, 1792–1849, King of the Netherlands, 1840 | Anna Pavlovna of Russia | Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, 1797–1881 [47][48] | Princess Pauline of Orange-Nassau, 1800–1806 | Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, 1810–1883 marriedPrince Albert of Prussia (1809–1872) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont | William III, 1817–1890, King of the Netherlands, 1849 | Sophia of Württemberg | Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, 1818–1848 | Prince Henry of the Netherlands, "the Navigator" 1820–1879 | Princess Sophie of the Netherlands, 1824–1897 marriedCharles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | Princess Louise of the Netherlands,1828–1871 marriedCharles XV of Sweden | Princess Marie of the Netherlands, 1841–1910 marriedWilliam, Prince of Wied one son wasWilliam, Prince of Albania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wilhelmina, 1880–1962, Queen of the Netherlands, 1890–1948 To 1907 after 1907 | Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1876–1934, Prince of the Netherlands | William, Prince of Orange 1840–1879.svg) | Prince Maurice of the Netherlands, 1843–1850 | Alexander, Prince of Orange, 1851–1884 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Juliana 1909–2004, Queen of the Netherlands, 1948–1980 | Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince of the Netherlands 1911–2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beatrix,1938–, Queen of the Netherlands,1980–2013 | Claus van Amsberg,1926–2002, Prince of the Netherlands | Princess Irene of the Netherlands, 1939, m.(1964–1981) Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma, 4 children not eligible for throne | Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, 1943– | Pieter van Vollenhoven | Princess Christina of the Netherlands,(1947–2019), m. Jorge Pérez y Guillermo (m. 1975; div. 1996), 3 children not eligible for throne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William-Alexander of the Netherlands,1967– Prince of Orange & Heir Apparent, 1980–2013,King of the Netherlands, 2013– | Queen Maxima of the Netherlands | Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau 1968–2013 m.(2004) Mabel Wisse Smit without permission, his children are not eligible for the throne and he was no longer a Prince of the Netherlands after his marriage | Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, 1969– | Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands | 4 sons, 2 of whom were eligible for the throne until Beatrix abdicated in 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands,2003– Princess of Orange & heiress apparent, 2013– | Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, 2005– | Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, 2007– | Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, 2002– | Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau, 2004– | Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau, 2006– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The gallery below show thecoats of arms used by members of the house of Orange-Nassau. Their growing complexity and use of crowns shows how arms are used to reflect the growing political position and royal aspirations of the family. A much more complete armorial is given at theArmorial of the House of Nassau, and another one atWapen van Nassau, Tak van Otto at the Dutch Wikipedia.
The ancestral coat of arms of the Ottonian line of thehouse of Nassau is shown right. Their distant cousins of the Walramian line added a red coronet to distinguish them. There is no specific documentation in the literature on the origin of the arms. The lion was always a popular noble symbol, originating as a symbol of nobility, power, and royal aspirations in western culture going all the way back toHercules. The lion was also heavily used as a heraldic symbol in border territories and neighbouring countries of theHoly Roman Empire andFrance. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from theHoly Roman Emperor, who used aneagle in his personal arms and theKing of France, who used the famousFleur-de-lis. The lion was so heavily used in the Netherlands for various provinces and families (seeLeo Belgicus) that it became the national arms of theDutch Republic, its successorKingdom of the Netherlands,Belgium, andLuxembourg. Blue, because of its nearness to purple, which in the northern climes tended to fade (red was the other choice), was also a popular color for those with royal aspirations. The billets could have been anything from blocks of wood to abstractions of the reenforcements holding the shield together. The fact that these were arms were very similar to those of thecounts of Burgundy (Franche-Comté) did not seem to cause too much confusion.
Henry III of Nassau-Breda came to the Netherlands in 1499 as heir to his uncle,Engelbrecht II of Nassau-Breda. His and his uncle's arms are shown below. WhenPhilbert, prince of Orange died in 1530, his sister's sonRené of Breda inherited the Princedom of Orange on condition that he used the name and coat of arms of the Chalon-Orange family. History knows him therefore as René of Chalon instead of as "René of Nassau-Breda." The 1st and 4th grand quarters show the arms of the Chalons-Arlay (the gold bend) princes of Orange (the bugle). The blue and gold cross is the arms of Jeanne of Geneva, who married one of the Chalons princes. The 2nd and 3rd show the quarterings of Brittany and Luxembourg-St. Pol. The inescutcheon overall is his paternal arms quartered of Nassau and Breda.William the Silent's father, William the Rich, was rich only in children. He bore the arms shown below. Clockwise from upper left they displayed the arms of Nassau (1st quarter), Katzenelenbogen (3rd quarter), Dietz (2nd quarter), Vianden (4th quarter).
![Arms of Engelbrecht II and Henry III of Nassau-Breda.[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNassau-Dillenburg_1420_klein.svg)
![Coat of arms of Rene of Chalons as Prince of Orange.[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNassau-Chalons_wapen.svg)
![Arms of William the Rich, count of Nassau-Dillenburg.[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNassau-Dillenburg_1559-1739.svg)
The princes of Orange in the 16th and 17th century used the following sets of arms. On becoming prince of Orange, William placed the Chalon-Arlay arms in the center ("as an inescutcheon") of his father's arms. He used these arms until 1582 when he purchased themarquisate of Veere and Vlissingen. It had been the property of Philip II since 1567, but had fallen into arrears to the province. In 1580 theCourt of Holland ordered it sold. William bought it as it gave him two more votes in the States of Zeeland. He owned the government of the two towns, and so could appoint their magistrates. He already had one as First Noble for Philip William, who had inherited Maartensdijk. This made William the predominant member of the States of Zeeland. It was a smaller version of the countship of Zeeland (& Holland) promised to William, and was a potent political base for his descendants. William then added the shield of Veere and Buren to his arms as shown in the arms ofFrederick Henry,William II andWilliam III with the arms of the marquisate in the top center, and the arms of the county of Buren in the bottom center.[1]: 29–30 William also started the tradition of keeping the number of billets in the upper left quarter for Nassau at 17 to symbolize the original 17 provinces of the Burgundian/Habsburg Netherlands, which he always hoped would form one united nation.
![Coat of arms of William the Silent as Prince of Orange from 1544 to 1582, and his eldest son Philip William[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWillem_van_Oranje_wapen_oud.svg)
![The coat of arms used by William the Silent from 1582 until his death, Frederick Henry, William II, and William III as Prince of Orange[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArms_of_William_Henry%2c_Prince_of_Orange%2c_Count_of_Nassau_with_Veere.svg)
![An alternate coat of arms sometimes used by Frederick Henry, William II, and William III as Prince of Orange showing the county of Moers in the top center rather than Veere.[53]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArms_of_William_Henry%2c_Prince_of_Orange%2c_Count_of_Nassau.svg)
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WhenJohn William Friso became Prince of Orange, he used the arms below. However, he was never recognized outside of Holland and areas friendly to Holland as Prince of Orange. His son,William IV, recognized as Prince of Orange, seems to have used the original arms ofWilliam the Silent.[54] When the princes of Orange fled the Netherlands during the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland, and when France occupied the Netherlands, they were compensated by Napoleon with thePrincipality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda. These principalities were confiscated when Napoleon invaded Germany (1806) and William VI supported his Prussian relatives. He succeeded his father as prince of Orange later that year, after William V's death. The house of Orange-Nassau also had several illegitimate lines (see below) who based their arms on the arms of Nassau-Dillenburg.
![Arms of Johan Willem Friso as Prince of Orange.[55]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArms_of_Johan_Willem_Friso_as_Prince_of_Orange.JPG)
![Arms of William VI of Orange as prince of Orange-Nassau-Fulda. The bottom most shield shows clockwise from top left the principality of Fulda, the lordship of Corvey, the county of Weingarten, and the lordship of Dortmund.[54]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNassau-Fulda_wapen.svg)
![Arms of Justinus van Nassau,[54] natural son of William the Silent.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aJustinus_van_Nassau_wapen.svg)
![Arms of the Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd, natural son of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and his descendants the lords of den Lek and the earls of Grantham in England[54]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNassau_laLecq.svg)
![Arms of the lords of Zuylestein, natural son of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and his descendants the earls of Rochford in England[54]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBlason_Nassau-Zuylestein.svg)
WhenWilliam VI of Orange returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, he quartered the formerArms of the Dutch Republic (1st and 4th quarter) with the "Chalon-Orange" arms (2nd and 3rd quarter), which had come to symbolize Orange. As an in escutcheon he placed his ancestral arms of Nassau. When he became King in 1815, he combined theDutch Republic Lion with the billets of the Nassau arms and added a royal crown to form theCoat of arms of the Netherlands. In 1907, Queen Wilhelmina replaced the royal crown on the lion and the shield bearers of the arms with a coronet.[56]
![Arms of William VI as sovereign prince of the Netherlands.[50]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArms_of_Sovereign_Prince_William_I_of_Orange.svg)
![First arms of the Kingdom and Kings of the Netherlands from 1815 to 1907.[18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRoyal_Arms_of_the_Netherlands_(1815-1907).svg)
Wilhelmina further decreed that in perpetuity her descendants should be styled "princes and princesses of Orange-Nassau" and that the name of the house would be "Orange-Nassau" (in Dutch "Oranje-Nassau"). Only those members of the members of the Dutch Royal Family that are designated to the smaller "Royal House" can use the title of prince or princess of the Netherlands.[18] Since then, individual members of the House of Orange-Nassau are also given their own arms by the reigning monarch, similar to the United Kingdom. This is usually the royal arms, quartered with the arms ofthe principality of Orange, and an in escutcheon of their paternal arms.[57]
As sovereign Princes, the princes of Orange used anindependent prince'scrown or theprincely hat. Sometimes, only the coronet part was used (see,here andhere). After the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and as theprincipality of Orange had been incorporated into France by Louis XIV, they used the Dutch Royal Crowns. The full coats of arms of the princes of Orange, later Kings of the Netherlands, incorporated the arms above, the crown, 2 lions as supporters and the motto "Je maintiendrai" ("I will maintain"), the latter taken from the Chalons princes of Orange, who used "Je maintiendrai Chalons".[2]: 35
Besides beingsovereign over theprincipality of Orange
, this is a partial listing of larger estates and titles that William the Silent and his heirs possessed, most enfeoffed to some other sovereign, either theKing of France,the Habsburgs, or the States of the provinces of the Netherlands[59]
Dietz
,Vianden
,Buren
,Moers
,Leerdam
, andCulemborg (1748)
Cranendonck
,Lands of Cuijk
,Eindhoven
,City of Grave
,Lek
,IJsselstein
,Acquoy
,Diest
,Grimbergen
/
,Herstal
,Warneton (Waasten (nl))
,Beilstein
,Bentheim-Lingen
,Arlay
,Nozeroy
, andOrpierre
;
Bredevoort
,Dasburg
,Geertruidenberg
,Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe
,Klundert
,'t Loo
,Montfort,.svg)
Naaldwijk
,Niervaart,Polanen/lands of Polanen.svg)
,Steenbergen
,Sint-Maartensdijk
,Turnhout
&Zevenbergen
,Willemstad
,Bütgenbach
,Sankt Vith
, andBesançon
A fuller listing with maps of the territories are in theMaps of the Lands of the House of Orange.
The Dutch Royal Family also makes extensive use of royal standards that are based on their coats of arms, but not identical to them (as the British Royal Family does). Some examples from the Royal Family's website are:[18]
The standards of the ruling king or queen:
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The standards of the current sons of the former Queen, now Princess Beatrix and their wives and the Queen's husband:
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A fuller listing can be found at theArmorial de la Maison de Nassau, section Lignée Ottonienne at the French Wikipedia.
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For further about the Dutch Monarchy and the Dutch Royal House:
Traditionally, members of the Nassau family were buried inBreda; but because that city was in Spanish hands when William died, he was buried in a newcrypt in theNew Church,Delft. The monument on his tomb was originally very modest, but it was replaced in 1623 by a new one, made byHendrik de Keyser and his son Pieter. Since then, most of the members of the House of Orange-Nassau, including allDutch monarchs, have been buried in that church. His great-grandsonWilliam the Third, King of England and Scotland and Stadtholder in the Netherlands, was buried inWestminster Abbey.
InRobert A. Heinlein's 1956 science fiction novelDouble Star, the House of Orange reigns over – but does not rule over – an empire of humanity that spans the entireSolar System.
The Royal House of the Netherlands is the House of Orange-Nassau.
Prins FREDERIK: Het koninklijke wapen, in 't shcildhoofd gebroken door een rooden barensteel, de middelste hanger beladen met een regtopstaanden goud pijl.
...de tweede oon voert het koninklijk wapen gebroken door een barensteel van drie stukken met een zilveren pijl.
...is het wapen afgebeeld van de oudste dochter van den Koning der Nederlanden. De barensteel is van keel en beladen met een gouden koningskroon.
Ecartelé : au 1. d'azur, semé de billettes d'or au lion d'or, armé et lampassé de gueules, brochant sur le tout (Maison de Nassau); II, d'or, au léopard lionné de gueules, arméc ouronné et lampassé d'azur (Katzenelnbogen); III, de gueules à la fasce d'argent (Vianden); IV, de gueules à deux lions passant l'un sur l'autre; sur-le-tout écartelé, aux I et IV de gueules, à la bande d'or (Chalon), et aux II et III d'or, au cor de chasse d'azur, virolé et lié de gueules (Orange); sur-le-tout-du-tout de cinq points d'or équipolés à quatre d'azur (Genève); un écusson de sable à la fasce d'argent brochant en chef (Marquis de Flessingue et Veere); un écusson de gueules à la fasce bretessée et contre-bretessée d'argent brochant en pointe (Buren). Cimier: 1er un demi-vol cont. coupé d'or sur gueles (Chalons), 2er une ramure de cerf d'or (Orange) 3er un demi-vol de sa, ch. d'un disque de armes de Dietz. Supports: deux lions d'or, arm. et lamp. de gueles. Devise: JE MAINTIENDRAI.
a la exception de celebre prince Maurice qui portai les armes ...
Het wapen van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Rijkswapen) en dat van de Koningen der Nederlanden (Koninklijk wapen) is vanaf de oprichting van het Koninkrijk in 1815 identiek. Het Wapen werd in 1907 gewijzigd en laatstelijk vastgesteld bij Koninklijk Besluit van 23 april 1980, nr. 3 (stb. 206) bij de troonsaanvaarding van Koningin Beatrix. De beschrijving van het wapenschild in het eerste artikel is dwingend voorgeschreven, de in het tweede en derde artikel beschreven uitwendige versierselen zijn facultatief. In de praktijk wordt de basisuitvoering van het wapen wel het Klein Rijkswapen genoemd. Het Koninklijk Wapen wordt sinds 1907 gekenmerkt door een gouden klimmende leeuw met gravenkroon. De blauwe achtergrond (het veld) is bezaaid met verticale gouden blokjes. De term bezaaid geeft in de heraldiek aan dat het aantal niet vaststaat, waardoor er ook een aantal niet compleet zijn afgebeeld. Het wapenschild wordt gehouden door twee leeuwen die in profiel zijn afgebeeld. Op het wapenschild is een Koningskroon geplaatst. Op een lint dat onder het wapenschild bevestigd is, staat de spreuk 'Je Maintiendrai'. Bij Koninklijk Besluit van 10 juli 1907 (Stb. 181) werd het Koninklijk Wapen, tevens Rijkswapen, aangepast. De leeuw in het schild en de schildhoudende leeuwen droegen vóór die tijd alle drie de Koninklijke kroon, maar raakten deze kwijt nu de toegevoegde purperen hermelijn gevoerde mantel, gedekt door een purperen baldakijn, een Koningskroon ging dragen. De schildhouders waren vóór 1907 bovendien aanziend in plaats van en profiel.
—Royal house — House of Orange-Nassau | ||
| Vacant Title last held by House of Bonaparteas ruling house of theKingdom of Holland | Ruling house of theNetherlands 1813–present | Incumbent |
| Vacant Title last held by House of Habsburg-Lorraineas ruling house of theDuchy of Luxembourg | Ruling house ofLuxembourg 1814–1890 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by House of Chalon-Orangeas ruling house of thePrincipality of Orange | Ruling house of thePrincipality of Orange 1544–present | Incumbent |
| Vacant Title last held by House of Habsburgas ruling house of theSpanish Netherlands | Stadtholder of theDutch Republic 1581–1795 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by House of Stuartas ruling house of theKingdom of England | Ruling house ofEngland 1694–1702 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by House of Stuartas ruling house of theKingdom of Scotland | Ruling house ofScotland 1694–1702 | |
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