William IV of Egmont (''Dutch'': Willem van Egmond) (26 January 1412 – 19 January 1483) was Lord of Egmond, IJsselstein, Schoonderwoerd and Haastrecht and

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

Biography

William was a son of

John II, Lord of Egmond John II, Lord of Egmond ( – 4 January 1451) was the son of Arnold I of Egmond (d. 9 April 1409, the son of John I and Guida D'Armstall) and Jolanthe of Leiningen (d. 24 April 1434, the daughter of Frederick VIII of Leningen and Jolanthe of ...

and

Maria van Arkel Maria van Arkel (c. 1385 – 19 July 1415) was the only daughter and heiress of Lord John V of Arkel and Joanna of Jülich. She inherited the title to Gelderland from her maternal uncle, Duke Reginald IV, and her son became Arnold, Duke of Gelder ...

, and a younger brother of

Arnold, Duke of Gelderland Arnold of Egmond (14 July 1410 – 23 February 1473) was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen. Life Arnold was born in Egmond-Binnen, North Holland, the son of John II of Egmond and Maria van Arkel. On 11 July 1423, Arnold, still a boy, succee ...

.
He travelled with his brothers to the Holy Land (1458–1464) and was received in Rome by Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

. William stayed most of the time in Guelders, where he supported his brother against his nephew

Adolf of Egmond Adolf of Egmond (Grave, 12 February 1438 – Tournai, 27 June 1477) was a Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen from 1465 to 1471 and in 1477. Life Adolf was the son of Arnold, Duke of Guelders and Catherine of Cleves. In the battle of successio ...

. After the incarceration of his brother, William led the pro-Burgundy party. When

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

, Duke of Burgundy took over power in Guelders in 1473, he made William Stadtholder. In 1477

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

included William in her

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ) was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourg ...

and made him Knight in the order of the Golden Fleece one year later.

Marriage and children

On 22 January 1437 William married Walburga of Meurs, Lady of Baer and Lathum, daughter of Frederick IV, Count of Moers (†1448), and Engelberta of Cleves, by whom he had 4 daughters and 3 sons: *

John III of Egmont John III of Egmont (or Egmond) (Hattem, 3 April 1438 – Egmond, 21 August 1516) was first Count of Egmont, Lord of Baer, Lathum, Hoogwoude, Aarstwoude, Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam, and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland. ...

, Count of Egmond, stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland; * Frederik of Egmont, Count of Buren and Leerdam, Lord of IJsselstein; * William of Egmont, stadtholder of Guelders. *Anna, married Bernard van Bentheim *Elisabeth, married Gijsbrecht van Bronckhorst *Walburgia, a nun *Margaretha, married Jan van Merode Besides the children from his marriage Van Egmont had four children by different women: *Nicholas of Egmond, was captured on the Valkhof 1478-1481 together with his half-brothers Frederick and William. *Hendrik van Egmond ( -1511), whose mother was Aleid Kreijnck *Frederik van Egmond *Hendrika van Egmond, she married Willem van Tuyl Bulcke Steijn (-1449). He was a son of Willem Willemsz of Tuyll and Maggie Mate Nesse, daughter of Adriaen van Nesse Mate (1385-1435) He is buried next to his brother, Duke Arnold of Gelderland. {{DEFAULTSORT:William 04, Lord of Egmont 1412 births 1483 deaths William 4 Knights of the Golden Fleece 15th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire 15th-century governors Stadtholders of Guelders and Zutphen