Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange.

The title is carried by members of the House of Orange-Nassau, as heirs to the crown of the Netherlands. Rival claims to the title are made by members of the House of Hohenzollern and the family of Mailly. The current holders of the title are Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (Orange-Nassau), Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia (Hohenzollern), and Guy, Marquis de Mailly-Neslé (Mailly).

History

County of Orange

The title originally referred to Orange, Vaucluse in the Rhone valley in southern France, which was a property of the House of Orange, then the House of Baux and the House of Châlon-Arlay before passing in 1544 to the House of Orange-Nassau.

The area started as the County of Orange, a fief in the Holy Roman Empire, in its constituent Kingdom of Burgundy. It was awarded to William of Gellone, a grandson of Charles Martel and therefore a cousin of Charlemagne, around the year 800 for his services in the wars against the Moors and reconquering 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 was also 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 was a pun on his name in French, from the character his deeds inspired in the chanson de geste, the Chanson de Guillaume, "Guillaume au Court Nez" or "Guillaume au Cornet".^[3] The chanson appears to be based on William of Gellone's battle at the Orbieu or Orbiel river near Carcassonne in 793 as wells as his seizure of the town of Orange.^[4]

Principality of Orange

As the kingdom of Burgundy fragmented in the early Middle Ages, the title was raised by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa elevated 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 used to exercise. As William the Silent 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 fief of anyone else, neither the Pope, nor the King of Spain or France.^[5][6] However, in the days where one's position honor and reputation were determined by such things, it drove William the Silent forward as much as it also fueled his great grandson's William III's opposition to Louis XIV when that king continually invaded and occupied Orange.

The last descendant of the original princes, René of Nassau, left the principality to his cousin William the Silent, who was not a descendant of the original Orange family but the legal heir to the principality of Orange.

In 1673, Louis XIV of France annexed all territory of the principality to the royal domain, as part of the war actions against the stadtholder William III of Orange — who later became King William III of England and King William II of Scotland. Orange ceased to exist as a separate sovereign principality, or in today's parlance, a separate sovereign nation.

In 1673, Louis XIV bestowed the (now non-sovereign) principality on Louis of Mailly-Nesles, marquis of Nesles (1689–1764), a very remote descendant of the original princes of Orange, through the marriage of the marquis to a descendant of the Chalons & des Baux.^[7] His descendant still claims the title today. In 1714 Louis XIV bestowed the usufruct of the principality on Prince Louis Armand of Bourbon-Conti. He died in 1727 and the principality was merged in the Crown in 1731.^[8]

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, Frederick I of Prussia, who ceded the principality — at least the lands, but not the formal title — to France in 1713.^[9] 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 Treaty of Utrecht allowed the King of Prussia to erect part of the duchy of Gelderland (the cities of Geldern, Straelen and Wachtendonk with their bailiwicks, Krickenbeck (including Viersen), the land of Kessel, the lordships of Afferden, Arcen-Velden-Lomm, Walbeck-Twisteden, Raay and Klein-Kevelaer, Well, Bergen and Middelaar) into a new Principality of Orange.^[10] The kings of Prussia and the German emperors styled themselves Princes of Orange till 1918.

An agnatic relative of William III, John William Friso of Nassau, who was also descended by female line from William the Silent, 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, inheriting from his cousin René, though not being descendants of the original princes of Orange. They also claim on basis of the testament of Philips William, Maurice and William III. Finally, they claim on the basis that Orange was an independent state, where the sovereign had the right to assign his succession according to his will. France never recognized any of this, nor allowed the Oranje-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 as new principality of Orange.^{[12] [13] [14]} From that derivation of the title comes the tradition of the house of Nassau-Dietz/Friesland, 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.

Thus, there are now two ^[15] pretender claimants to this title, or claimants, depending on whose claims take precedence:

• The House of Hohenzollern, who reigned in Prussia until 1918
• The House of Mailly-Nesles

Bearers of the title

As Counts of Orange

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 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 to the heiress of the counts of Provence.^[3] For a genealogical table, see the reference cited:^[16]

Bertrand I used as Prince of Orange the coat of arms of the House of Baux: 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 Châlon-Arlay (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 or House of Ivrea. They married the heiress of Baux-Orange.

House of Châlon-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 Châlon-Orange. Therefore, he is usually counted as one of the Châlon-Orange and history knows him as Rene of Châlon, rather than "of Nassau".^[3]

House of Orange-Nassau (first creation)

William of Nassau inherited the principality of Orange from his cousin Rene when Rene willed it to him, along with his other lordships. Although William had no blood from the previous princes, this was deemed to be "legal" as Orange was a soveign principality (in modern parliance, independent nation), and the sovereign prince (Rene) had the right to leave his sovereignty to whomever he pleased. This began the Dutch Royal House of Orange-Nassau.

As a personal title or as heir apparent

House of Orange-Nassau (second creation)

As personal title of nobility

As royal title for the heir apparent

House of Hohenzollern

• Frederick I of Prussia (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, currently Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, Prinz von Oranje (1976-)

House of Mailly

• Louis de Mailly, Marquis de Nesle et de Mailly, appointed by the French king, and his descendants, 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 Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau

Historical background

William the Silent (Willem I) was the first stadtholder of the Dutch Republic and the most significant representative of the House of Orange in the Netherlands. He was count of a small German county, part of the Duchy of 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, Prince of Orange, when William was only 11 years old. After William's assassination in 1584, the title passed to his son Philip William (who had been held hostage in Spain until 1596), and after his death in 1618, to his second son Maurice, and finally to his youngest son, Frederick Henry.

The title of Prince of Orange became synonymous with the stadtholder of the Netherlands.

William III (Willem III) was also King of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his legacy is commemorated annually by the Protestant Orange Order.

William and Mary had no legitimate children. After his death in 1702, the Dutch contender to his title was his heir in the Netherlands, John William Friso of Nassau-Diez, who assumed the title. William's testament designated Friso to inherit the title. 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 drove them away 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 in a bill 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. Currently, Princess Catharina-Amalia is the Hereditary Princess of Orange. She will be the Princess of Orange once her father, Prince Willem-Alexander, is inaugurated King of the Netherlands.

Style

The Prince(ss) of Orange is 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 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" as his mother was the Princess Royal of England.

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.^[17] Their growing complexity shows how arms are used to reflect the growing political position and royal aspirations of the house of Orange-Nassau.

Individual members of the House of Orange-Nasau 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 inescutcheon of their paternal arms. For Willem Alexander, the current Prince of Orange & crown prince of the Netherlands, it is:

The Counts of Orange of the First House of Orange

The first house of Orange is somewhat of a conjecture given the fragmentary nature of documentation in the early medieval era. The French Wikipedia page for the first House of Orange has presented what is known with references. Their chart is reproduced here.

Descendants of Pons de Mevouillon (the arms of the counts d'Orange is a reference point. Arms did not exist until the late 12th century. :

Pons de Mevouillon 
 x Blismodis
 |
 | --> Humbert évêque de Vaison, jusqu’en 1005 
 |
 | --> Garnier, évêque d’Avignon (976-991) 
 |
 | --> Ison
 |
 | --> Pons II de Mevouillon (ca 920-986) 
       x Richilde, originaire de l’Uzège
       |
       | --> Féraud de Nice  évêque de Gap 
       |
       | --> Pierre de Mirabel  évêque de Vaison 
       |
       | --> Pons III de Mevouillon
       |      |    ... --> Descendance Mevouillon... 
       |
       | --> Arnoul de Theys
       |      |    ... --> Descendance Theys... 
       |
       | --> Gérard
       |
       | --> Rambaud
       |
       | --> Raoul
       |
       | --> Laugier de Nice (ca 1050-1032) 
             x  Odile de Provence (976-1032), fille de fr:Guillaume Ier de Provence:Guillaume Ier de Provence
             |
             | --> Rostan de Gréolières
             |      |    ... --> Descendance Gréolières... 
             |
             | --> Pierre de Nice, évêque de Sisteron (1043–1059) 
             |
             | --> Jauccara de Nice
             |      x  Amic de Vence-Avignon
             |
             | --> Gerberge de Nice
             |       x  fr:Bérenger d’Avignon:Bérenger d’Avignon.
             |
             | --> Rambaud de Nice (1006–1073) 
                    x 1032 Accelena d’Apt
                    |
                    | --> Laugier d’Apt
                          x Amancia de Lacoste-Castellane
                    |
                    | --> Odila de Nice
                         x Boniface de Reillanne
                    |
                    | --> Gisla de Nice
                          x Rostang d'Agoult 
                          |
                          | -->  Laugier d'Agout, évêque d'Apt, croisé 
                    |
                    | --> Pierre II de Nice évêque de Sisteron, puis  évêque de Vaison 
                    |
                    | --> Rostan de Fréjus
                          x Accelena de Marignane
                    |
                    | --> Rambaud de Nice, seigneur de Gréolières (+ jeune)
                    |
                    x  Bélieldis de Marseille
                    |
                    | --> Amic
                    |
                    | --> Guillaume
                    |
                    x avant 1045 Azalaïs de Reillanne, veuve de Guilhem d'Agoult 
                    |
                    | --> Bertrand-Rambaud d’Orange 
                          x 1068 Adélaïde de Cavenez, veuve de Guillaume V Bertrand de Provence 
                          |
                          | --> Léger ou Laugerus, évêque d’Avignon(1124 ou 1126-1142) 
                          |
                          | --> Jausserand Laugier, seigneur de Gréolières
                          |
                          x 1064 Gerberge, fille de Foulques Bertrand de Provence 
                          |
                          | --> Pierre
                          |
                          | --> Rambaud II d'Orange, the crusader or English Wiki
                                |
                                | --> Thiburge d'Orange 
                                     x 1104 Giraud Adhémar de Monteil 
                                     |
                                     x 1129 Guillaume d'Aumelas 
                                     |
                                     | --> Raimbaut d'Orange, the famous troubadour. or English Wiki
                                     |
                                     | --> Thiburge II d'Orange
                                     |   x 1171 Bertrand des Baux 
                                         |
                                         | --> Hughes IV
                                         |
                                         | --> Bertrand II
                                         |
                                         | --> Thiburge
                                         |
                                         | --> Guillaume des Baux or English Wiki 
                                              x Ermengarde de Mévouillon
                                              |
                                              | --> Guillaume II des Baux or English Wiki 

See also

• List of heirs to the Dutch throne

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
• Treaty of Partition (1732)