William the Silent
| William I Prince of Orange |
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|---|---|
William of Orange, Adriaen Thomasz Key, c. 1570–84
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| Prince of Orange | |
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In office 15 July 1544 – 10 July 1584 |
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| Preceded by | René of Châlon |
| Succeeded by | Philip William, Prince of Orange |
| Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland | |
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In office 1559–1584 |
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| Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht | |
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In office 1559–1567 |
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| Monarch | Philip II of Spain |
| Preceded by | Maximilian of Burgundy |
| Succeeded by | Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard |
| Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht | |
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In office 1572 – 10 July 1584 |
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| Preceded by | Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard |
| Succeeded by |
Holland & Zeeland: Maurice of Orange Utrecht: Adolf van Nieuwenaar |
| Stadtholder of Friesland | |
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In office 1580 – 10 July 1584 |
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| Succeeded by | William Louis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 April 1533 Dillenburg, Nassau, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 10 July 1584 (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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Wikipedia