10 things about the House of Orange

William of Orange is regarded as the ‘father of the nation’. He was given a fitting final resting place in the New Church in Delft, in a tomb where the high altar once stood. The dog asleep at his feet probably symbolizes his loyalty to his country.

Prince Maurits won acclaim as a military general and strategist thanks to victories such as at the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600). This painting depicts that battle against the Spanish forces. Maurits is on the left, on a rearing horse.

Frederik Hendrik exerted an unprecedented appeal. This tunic was carried in his funeral procession to display his stature and majesty. Four heralds wore similar tunics while a fifth was held aloft on a staff.

After Frederik Hendrik‘s death, the Orange dynasty came under threat from the States Party. His widow Amalia van Solms commissioned a cabinet ornamented with orange trees and angels holding up oranges, the message being: Orange will win out.

As well as stadtholder, William III became king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was well-liked by the Protestants there, but not by the Catholics. This bust immortalizes his regal status: with a crown and the initials WR, for William Rex.

In English, the text on this plate reads: ‘As long as Sun and Moon remain; The colour Orange shall Never wane’. It refers to Stadtholder William V and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia, who were forced into exile by the Patriots and the French. Shortly thereafter, in 1795, the Batavian Republic was proclaimed.

To many of his contemporaries, King William II was a hero. As the crown prince of Orange, he was at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where he suffered a shoulder injury. This is thought to be his camp bed.

King William III was widely criticized by his subjects. In 1897, Sicco Roorda van Eysinga penned a satirical pamphlet about an exhibitionist ‘King Gorilla’ who abused his power and threatened and beat his wife.

Portrait of an ordinary little girl? Certainly not! This is Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau at age 5. As William III’s daughter, it was up to her to win back the people’s hearts. And did she ever!

Not every royal inauguration was cheered by all. Beatrix’s inauguration in 1980 was disrupted by squatters chanting ‘no homes, no coronation’. This was at a time of large-scale riots protesting the housing shortage and the Dutch authorities.