Coat of Arms of the Prince of Orange (1815-1884)

Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

originally associated with the sovereign

Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...

, in what is now southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and subsequently held by sovereigns in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The title "Prince of Orange" was created in 1163 by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, by elevating the county of Orange to a principality, in order to bolster his support in that area in his conflict with the Papacy. The title and land passed to the French noble houses of Baux, in 1173, and of Chalons, in 1393, before arriving with Rene of Nassau in 1530. The principality then passed to a Dutch nobleman, Rene's cousin

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(known as "the Silent"), in 1544. In 1702, after William the Silent's great-grandson

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...

died without children, a dispute arose between his cousins, Johan Willem Friso and

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

. In 1713, under the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

Frederick William I of Prussia ceded the Principality of Orange to King Louis XIV of France (while retaining the title as part of his dynastic titulature). In 1732, under the Treaty of Partition, Friso's son,

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

agreed to share use of the title "Prince of Orange" (which had accumulated prestige in the Netherlands and throughout the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

world) with Frederick William. With the 19th century emergence of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

, the title has been traditionally borne by the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of the Dutch monarch. Although originally only carried by men, since 1983 the title descends via absolute primogeniture, which means that the holder can be either Prince or Princess of Orange. The current Dutch royal dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, is not the only family to claim the dynastical title. Rival claims to the title have been made by German emperors and kings of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

and by the head of the French noble family of Mailly. The current users of the title are

Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(Orange-Nassau), Georg Friedrich (of Hohenzollern), and Guy (of Mailly-Nesle).

History

County of Orange

The title originally referred to

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

valley of southern

, which was a property of the House of Orange, then of the

House of Baux The House of Baux is a French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the richest and most powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellans of Les Baux and Arles and wi ...

and the House of Chalon-Arlay before passing in 1544 to the Dillenburg branch of the House of Nassau, which since then is known as the House of Orange-Nassau. The Principality originated as the ''County of Orange'', a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, in the Empire's constituent

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva and ...

. It was awarded to

William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.

(born 755), a grandson of

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...

and therefore a cousin of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

, around the year 800 for his services in the wars against the Moors and in the reconquest of southern France and the Spanish March. His Occitan name is ''Guilhem''; however, as a Frankish lord, he probably knew himself by the old Germanic version of ''Wilhelm''. William also ruled as count of Toulouse, duke of Aquitaine, and marquis of Septimania. The horn that came to symbolize Orange when heraldry came in vogue much later in the 12th century represented a pun on

's name in French, from the character his deeds inspired in the ''

chanson de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th c ...

'', the '' Chanson de Guillaume'': "Guillaume au Court-nez" (William the Short-Nosed) or its homophone "Guillaume au Cornet" (William the Horn). The ''chanson'' appears to incorporate material relating to William of Gellone's battle at the Orbieu or Orbiel river near Carcassonne in 793 as well as to his seizure of the town of Orange.

Principality of Orange

As the kingdom of Burgundy fragmented in the early Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

elevated the lordship of Orange to a principality in 1163 to shore up his supporters in Burgundy against the Pope and the King of France. As the Empire's boundaries retreated from those of the principality, the prince acceded to the sovereign rights that the Emperor formerly exercised. As

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

wrote in his marriage proposal to the uncle of his second wife, the Elector August of Saxony, he held Orange as "my own free property", not as a

of any suzerain; neither the Pope, nor the Kings of Spain or France. That historical position of honor and reputation would later drive William the Silent forward, as much as it also fueled the opposition of his great grandson William III to

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, when that king invaded and occupied Orange. The last direct descendant of the original princes, René of Chalon, exercised his sovereign right and left the principality to his cousin

, who was not a descendant of the original Orange family but the heir to the principality of Orange by testament. This was, however, against the inheritance pattern enacted by the last will of Mary of Baux-Orange, the Princess of Orange from the

who brought the principality into the Chalons family and through to whom Prince René derived his own inheritance right (see Genealogy of the House of Orange-Chalon). In this way, Rene transmitted his property to his nearest relative, rather than go back several generations to transmit it to now distant cousins. Oranje1547

Those now distant cousins were the descendants of Alix de Chalon. Marie des Baux-Orange had stipulated in her will that if her son Louis did not inherit Orange, her daughter Alix and her descendants should. Guillaume de Vienne, seigneur de Saint-Georges, was the husband of Alix. They had a daughter Marguerite, who married in 1449 Rudolf of Baden-Hochberg, lord of Neuchâtel and Rothelin (1427-87). Their son was Philip (d. 1503). His only child who reached maturity was Johanna (d. 1543). She married in 1504 Louis I of Orléans, duc de Longueville (1450-1516). Through this marriage, the Orléans-Longueville, an illegitimate branch of the house of Valois, were the claimants of Orange until their extinction in male line in 1694(see Famille d'Orléans-Longueville). When William the Silent of Nassau succeeded as prince of Orange, the Orléans-Longueville protested and obtained court decisions in their favor in France. However, as Orange was a sovereign state and not part of France, the courts' decisions were not enforceable and left the principality in the hands of the Nassau-Orange family. In 1673, Louis XIV of France annexed all territory of the principality to France and to the royal domain, as part of the war actions against the stadtholder William III of Orange — who later became King William III of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. Orange ceased to exist as a sovereign realm,

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

. Louis then bestowed the titular princedom on Louis Charles de Mailly, marquis de Nesle, whose wife was a direct descendant, and heiress-general by primogeniture, of the original princes of Orange, After the marquise (who died in 1713), the next holder was , marquis de Nesle (1689–1764). Although no longer descended from Louis-Charles, a branch of the Mailly family still claim the title today. In 1714 Louis XIV bestowed the

usufruct Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'': * ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...

of the principality on his kinsman, Louis Armand of Bourbon, Prince de Conti, who had a claim on the principality through the claims of the Orléans-Longueville via Alix of Chalon (see above). After his death in 1727 the principality was deemed merged in the Crown by 1731. After the

in 1713 ceded Orange to France, the following claimants came forward in official protests against the terms of the treaty: * the house of Luynes/ Maison d'Albert de Luynes (protest, 14 Apr 1713) * the house of Matignon (protest, 15 Apr and 2 Jun 1713) * Paule-Françoise-Marguerite de Gondi de Retz, duchesse douairière de Lesdiguières, and the house of Villeroy/ Maison de Neufville de Villeroy (16 Apr 1713; also claimants to Neufchatel and Valengin) * the house of Allegre (protest, 15 Apr 1713) * the house of Duprat (protest, 15 Apr 1713) However, as the treaty considered Orange to now be conquered by and annexed to France, their protests were ignored.

Abolition of the principality, continuation of the title

Because William III died without legitimate children, the principality was regarded as having been inherited by his closest cognate relative on the basis of the testament of Frederic-Henry,

, who ceded the principality — at least the lands, but not the formal title — to France in 1713. France supported his claim. In this way, the territory of the principality lost its feudal and secular privileges and became a part of France. The

allowed the King of Prussia to erect part of the duchy of Gelderland (the cities of Geldern, Straelen, and Wachtendonk with their bailiwicks, Krickenbeck, Viersen, the land of Kessel, and the lordships of Afferden, Arcen-Velden-Lomm, Walbeck-Twisteden, Raay and Klein-Kevelaer, Well, Bergen, and Middelaar) into a new ''Principality of Orange''. The kings of Prussia and the German emperors styled themselves Princes of Orange till 1918. Orange Principality Map

An agnatic relative of William III, John William Friso of Nassau, who was also cognatically descended from

, was designated the heir to the Princes of Orange in the Netherlands by the last will of William III. Several of his descendants became stadtholders. They claim the principality of Orange on the basis of agnatic inheritance, similar to that of William the Silent, who had inherited Orange from his cousin René of Chalon. They did however have a claim, albeit distant, to the principality itself due to John William Friso's descent from Louise de Coligny, who was a descendant of the original Princes of Orange. (Louise's great grandmother, Anne Pot, Countess of Saint-Pol, was a descendant of Tiburge d'Orange, who married into the des Baux family) They could also claim descent from the del Balzo, an Italian branch of the des Baux family, via the marriage of Princess Anne to

William IV, Prince of Orange William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1747 until his death in 1751. During his whole ...

. Anne was the eldest daughter of

George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

, who was a descendant of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV of England. Elizabeth Woodville's grandmother was

Margherita del Balzo Margaret of Baux (french: Marguerite des Baux, it, Margherita del Balzo; 1394 – 15 November 1469) was a Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano. She was a member of the noble House of Baux of the Kingdom of Naples, which had its ori ...

, another descendant of Tiburge d'Orange. They also claimed on the basis of the testaments of Philip William, Maurice, and William III. Finally, they claimed on the basis that Orange was an independent state whose sovereign had the right to assign his succession according to his will. France never recognized any of this, nor allowed the Orange-Nassaus or the Hohenzollerns to obtain anything of the principality itself. The Oranje-Nassaus nevertheless assumed the title and also erected several of their lordships into a new principality of Orange. From that derivation of the title comes the tradition of the House of Orange-Nassau (originally Nassau-Dietz), the later stadtholders of the Netherlands, and the present-day royal family of the Netherlands, of holding this title. They maintain the tradition of William the Silent and the House of Orange-Nassau. There are two other claimants to this title: * The

, who reigned in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

until 1918 * The House of Mailly-Nesles

Bearers of the title

As Counts of Orange

First House of Orange

As sovereign prince of Orange

Until 1340, it was customary for all sons of the prince of Orange to inherit the title. Only the direct line of descent to Raimond V is shown here.

House of Baux The House of Baux is a French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the richest and most powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellans of Les Baux and Arles and wi ...

The

house of Baux The House of Baux is a French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the richest and most powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellans of Les Baux and Arles and wi ...

succeeded to the principality of Orange when Bertrand of Baux married the heiress of the last native count of Orange, Tiburge, daughter of William of Orange, Omelaz, and Montpellier. Their son was William I of Baux-Orange. Bertrand was the son of Raymond of Baux and Stephanie of Gevaudan. Stephanie was the younger daughter of Gerberga, the heiress of the counts of Provence. For a genealogical table, see the reference cited: Bertrand I used as Prince of Orange the coat of arms of the

: a 16-pointed white star placed on a field of gules. Later on, the Princes of Orange quartered the legendary bugle-horn as a heraldic figure into their coat of arms.

House of Baux-Orange

House of Chalon-Orange The House of Chalon-Arlay was a French noble house, a cadet branch of the House of Ivrea. The founder of the house is John I of Chalon-Arlay, fifth son of John, Count of Chalon. When John III lord of Arlay married to Mary de Baux, princess of Or ...
(also House of Ivrea of Anscarid dynasty)

The lords of Chalons and Arlay were a cadet branch of the ruling house of the county of Burgundy, the

Anscarids The Anscarids ( la, Anscarii) or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. The main branch ruled the County of Burg ...

House of Ivrea The Anscarids ( la, Anscarii) or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. The main branch ruled the County of Burgu ...

. They married the heiress of Baux-Orange.

House of Chalon-Orange

Rene inherited the principality of Orange from his uncle Philbert on the condition that he bear the name and arms of the house of Chalon-Orange. Therefore, he is usually counted as one of the Chalon-Orange and history knows him as Rene of Chalon, rather than "of Nassau".

House of Orange-Nassau (first incarnation)

William of Nassau inherited the principality of Orange from his cousin René. Although William descended from no previous Prince of Orange, as René had no children or siblings, he exercised his right as sovereign prince to will Orange to his first cousin on his father's side, who actually had no Orange blood. This began the Dutch Royal House of Orange-Nassau.

Title without territory

House of Orange-Nassau (second incarnation)

The 2nd house of Orange-Nassau (see House of Orange-Nassau family tree) were cousins on their father and mother's side of the 1st house.

=Head of house

=Netherlands heir apparent

House of Hohenzollern

(1702–1713), a senior descendant in female line from William the Silent, who ceded his claims to the lands of Orange to France in 1713, and his descendants, but kept his right to use the title.

House of Mailly

* Louis de Mailly, Marquis de Nesle et de Mailly, appointed by the French king, and his descendants, descended through another line of the house of Chalons-Arlay, currently Guy, Marquis de Nesle et de Mailly, Prince d'Orange.

House of Bourbon

* Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti, appointed by the French king, and his descendants, the Princes of Conti becoming extinct in 1815.

Princes of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau

Historical background

(Willem I) was the first stadtholder of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

and the most significant representative of the House of Orange in the Netherlands. He was count of a portion of the German territory of Nassau (duchy), Nassau and heir to some of his father's fiefs in Holland. William obtained more extensive lands in the Netherlands (the lordship of Breda and several other dependencies) as an inheritance from his cousin René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, when William was only 11 years old. After William's assassination in 1584, the title passed to his son Philip William, Prince of Orange, Philip William (who had been held hostage in Spain until 1596), and after his death in 1618, to his second son Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, Maurice, and finally to his youngest son, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, Frederick Henry. The title of Prince of Orange became associated with the stadtholder of the Netherlands. William III (Willem III) was also King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, and his legacy is commemorated annually by the Protestant Orange Institution, Orange Order. William's mother, Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, Mary, was the daughter of King Charles I of England and therefore a princess of England as well as Princess of Orange by marriage. William III and Mary II of England, Mary II had no legitimate children. After William's death in 1702, his heir in the Netherlands was John William Friso, Prince of Orange, John William Friso of Nassau-Diez, who assumed the title, King William having bequeathed it to him by testament. The other contender was the King in Prussia, who based his claim to the title on the will of Frederick Henry, William III's grandfather. Eventually, a compromise was reached by which both families were entitled to bear the title of Prince of Orange. By then, it was no more than a title because the principality had been annexed by Louis XIV of France. Friso's line held it as their principal title during the 18th century. The French army expelled them from the Netherlands in 1795, but on their return, the Prince of Orange became the first sovereign of the Netherlands in 1813. After the establishment of the current Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, the title was partly reconstitutionalized by legislation and granted to the eldest son of King William I of the Netherlands, Prince William, who later became William II of the Netherlands. Since 1983, the heir to the Dutch throne, whether male or female, bears the title Prince or Princess of Orange. The first-born child of the heir to the Dutch throne bears the title Hereditary Prince(ss) of Orange. When her father Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander became King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix, Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, Princess Catharina-Amalia became the Princess of Orange.

Style

The Prince(ss) of Orange is Style - Manner of Address, styled ''His/Her Royal Highness the Prince(ss) of Orange'' (Dutch: ''Zijne/Hare Koninklijke Hoogheid de Prins(es) van Oranje''). During the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries, the Prince(ss) of Orange was Style - Manner of Address, styled ''His/Her Highness the Prince(ss) of Orange'' (Dutch: ''Zijne/Hare Hoogheid de Prins(es) van Oranje''), except for William III, who rated the "Royal/Koninklijke".

Arms

The princes of Orange in the 16th and 17th century used the following sets of arms. On becoming Prince of Orange, William placed the Châlon-Arlay arms in the center ("as an inescutcheon") of his father's arms. He used these arms until 1582 when he purchased the marquisate of Veere and Vlissingen. He then used the arms attributed to Frederick Henry, etc. with the arms of the marquisate in the top center, and the arms of the county of Buren in the bottom center. Their growing complexity shows how arms are used to reflect the growing political position and royal aspirations of the house of Orange-Nassau. File:Blason René de Nassau-Dillenbourg, Prince de Châlon-Orange.svg, Coat of arms of René of Châlon as Prince of Orange. File:Blason Nassau-Orange.svg, Coat of arms of

as Prince of Orange until 1582 and his eldest son Philip William, Prince of Orange, Philip William File:Maurits Nassau wapen klein.svg, The coat of arms used by Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, Maurice showing the county of Moers (top left center and bottom right center) and his mother's arms of Saxony (center) File:Blason Nassau-Orange (Cadets).svg, The coat of arms used by

after 1582, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, Frederick Henry, William II, Prince of Orange, William II, and William III as Prince of Orange File:Blason Nassau-Orange (Cadets) Alternate.PNG, An alternate coat of arms sometimes used by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, Frederick Henry, William II, Prince of Orange, William II, and William III as Prince of Orange showing the county of Moers in the top center rather than Veere. When William I of the Netherlands, William VI of Orange returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, he quartered the former Dutch Republic Lion, Arms of the Dutch Republic (1st and 4th quarter) with the "Châlon-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 the Dutch Republic Lion with the billets of the Nassau arms and added a royal crown to form the Coat of arms of the Netherlands. In the 19th century, the Dutch Crown prince, who holds the title "Prince of Orange" ("Prins van Oranje"), and his son, who holds the title "Hereditary Prince of Orange" ("Erfprins van Oranje") had their own pre-defined arms. The House of Orange, now the Royal House of the Netherlands, and their descendants the House of Orange-Nassau, kept this title for their family. 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"). 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 of the principality of Orange, and an in escutcheon of their paternal arms. File:Arms of Sovereign Prince William I of Orange.svg, Arms of William VI as sovereign prince of the Netherlands. File:Arms of the Prince of Orange (1815-1884).svg, Arms of the Dutch Crown prince, the prince of Orange in the 19th Century. File:Arms of the eldest son of the Prince of Orange (1815-1884).svg, Arms of the son of the Dutch Crown Prince in the 19th Century, who also held the title of Hereditary Prince of Orange. File:Arms of Juliana of the Netherlands.svg, Juliana of the Netherlands & Oranje-Nassau Personal Arms File:Arms of Beatrix of the Netherlands.svg, Beatrix of the Netherlands & Oranje-Nassau Personal Arms File:Arms of the children of Beatrix of the Netherlands.svg, William Alexander of the Netherlands and Oranje-Nassau Personal Arms File:Arms of the children of Margriet of the Netherlands.svg, Sons of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Pieter van Vollenhoven As a former territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the princes of Orange used an Fürst, independent prince's crown. Sometimes, only the coronet part was used (:File:Arolsen Klebeband 01 343.jpg, see, :File:Anselmus-van-Hulle-Hommes-illustres MG 0442.tif, here and :File:Funeral procession of Frederik Hendrik prince of Orange.jpg, here). After the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, they used the Dutch Royal Crowns: File:Princely Hat.svg, Princely Hat File:Princely crown.svg, Princely Crown File:Royal Crown of the Netherlands (Heraldic).svg, Crown for a Prince or Princess of the Netherlands File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Dutch Monarch (Heraldic).svg, Crown of a Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau (Heraldic)

References

Literature

* Herbert H. Rowen, ''The princes of Orange: the stadholders in the Dutch Republic''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. * John Lothrop Motley, "History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Synod of Dort". London: John Murray, 1860. * John Lothrop Motley, "The Life and Death of John of Barenvelt". New York & London: Harper and Brothers Publishing, 1900. * Petrus Johannes Blok, "History of the people of the Netherlands". New York: G. P. Putnam's sons, 1898. * Reina van Ditzhuyzen, ''Het Huis van Oranje: prinsen, stadhouders, koningen en koninginnen''. Haarlem : De Haan, [1979].

External links

Treaty ceding the Principality to Louis XIV

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Of Orange Princes of Orange, Heirs to the throne House of Orange-Nassau, * House of Hohenzollern, * House of Bourbon-Conti, * Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, Orange Lists of princes, Orange

History

County of Orange

Principality of Orange

Abolition of the principality, continuation of the title

Bearers of the title

As Counts of Orange

First House of Orange

As sovereign prince of Orange

House of Baux The House of Baux is a French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the richest and most powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellans of Les Baux and Arles and wi ...

House of Baux-Orange

House of Chalon-Orange

House of Orange-Nassau (first incarnation)

Title without territory

House of Orange-Nassau (second incarnation)

=Head of house

=Netherlands heir apparent

House of Hohenzollern

House of Mailly

House of Bourbon

Princes of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau

Historical background

Style

Arms

See also

References

Literature

External links