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William I, Prince of Orange

William I
Prince of Orange
William I, Prince of Orange by Adriaen Thomasz. Key Rijksmuseum Amsterdam SK-A-3148.jpg
William of Orange, Adriaen Thomasz Key, c.  1570–84
Prince of Orange
In office
15 July 1544 – 10 July 1584
Preceded by René of Châlon
Succeeded by Philip William, Prince of Orange
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland
In office
1559–1584
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht
In office
1559–1567
Monarch Philip II of Spain
Preceded by Maximilian of Burgundy
Succeeded by Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht
In office
1572 – 10 July 1584
Preceded by Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard
Succeeded by Holland & Zeeland: Maurice of Orange
Utrecht: Adolf van Nieuwenaar
Stadtholder of Friesland
In office
1580 – 10 July 1584
Succeeded by William Louis
Personal details
Born (1533-04-24)24 April 1533
Dillenburg, Nassau, Holy Roman Empire
Died 10 July 1584(1584-07-10) (aged 51)
Delft, Holland, Dutch Republic
Spouse(s) Anna of Egmond
(m. 1551; d. 1558)

Anna of Saxony
(m. 1561; div. 1571)

Charlotte of Bourbon
(m. 1575; d. 1582)

Louise de Coligny
(m. 1583)
Children 16
Mother Juliana of Stolberg-Werningerode
Father William, Count of Nassau
Religion Lutheran (1533–44)
Roman Catholic (1544–73)
Calvinist (1573–84)

William I, Prince of Orange (24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584), also widely known as William the Silent or William the Taciturn (translated from Dutch: Willem de Zwijger), or more commonly known as William of Orange (Dutch: Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1581. He was born in the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands.

A wealthy nobleman, William originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, William joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard (also written as "Gerardts") in Delft in 1584.

William was born on 24 April 1533 at Dillenburg castle then in the County of Nassau-Dillenburg, in the Holy Roman Empire (now in Hesse, Germany). He was the eldest son of William, Count of Nassau by his second wife Juliana of Stolberg-Werningerode. William's father had one surviving daughter by his previous marriage, and his mother had four surviving children by her previous marriage. His parents had twelve children together, of whom William was the eldest; he had four younger brothers and seven younger sisters. The family was religiously devout and William was raised a Lutheran.


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