| Notes |
- Notes for WILLIAM I OF HOLLAND (THE SILENT):
William I the silent (1533-1584), also known as William of Orange, prince of Orange 1544, count of Nassau, Vianden and Dietz, viscount of Antwerp, baron of Breda, stadholder of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht 1559, Brabant 1577 and Friesland 1580. He married 1st 1551 Anna of Egmont (1533-1558), countess of Buren.
After the death of his 1st wife William of Orange had an affair with Eva Elinx and fathered a son, Justinus of Nassau (1559-1631), who married in 1597 Anna of Merode (1565-1634).
He married 2nd 1561 Anna of Saxony (1544-1577), to the right, annulled, 3rd 1575 Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier (1546/7-1582), 4th 1583 Louise de Coligny (1555-1620), widow of Charles de TÈligny and daughter of Gaspard de Coligny.William of Orange was a German count of Nassau, who had inherited the French principality of Orange and a number of estates in The Netherlands.
He had been educated at the Catholic court of emperor Charles V in Brussels. Charles V had leaned on the arm of William of Orange in the ceremony of handing over his power to his son, Philip II of Spain. Philip had immediately appointed Spanish stadholders in stead of Dutch ones. His reforms and religious persecutions resulted in social unrest. When William was send to France to assist in arranging the terms of a treaty, the French king thought William was Philips' confident and talked to him about Philips' plans to exterminate Dutch Protestantism. William, who supported freedom of religion, gave no sign and listened carefully, thus earning his nickname 'the silent'.
In 1567, when Philip send the notorious duke of Alba with an army to the Low Countries, William of Orange and his family left the country with all his belongings and moved into his brother's castle at Dillenburg in Germany. In 1568 William's eldest son, Philip William, was abducted to Spain never to see his father again, while the counts of Egmont and Hornes were treacherously beheaded by Alba. These executions started the Eighty Years War between Spain and the Low Countries. William the silent and his brothers set about recruiting troops, selling William's jewels and plate to raise the necessary money. In the first years of the war William lost most of his battles and his brothers Adolph and Louis were killed.
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1533 - 1584 (50 years)
Has 6 ancestors and 92 descendants in this family tree.
[1, 2] 
1506 - 1580 (74 years)