Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of, the Netherlands.

The title "Prince of Orange" was created in 1163 by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, by elevating the county of Orange to a principality, in order to bolster his support in that area in his conflict with the Papacy. The title and land passed to the French noble houses of Baux, in 1173, and of Chalons, in 1393, before arriving with Rene of Nassau in 1530. The principality then passed to a German-born nobleman from then Spanish Netherlands, Rene's cousin William (known as "the Silent"), in 1544. Subsequently William led a successful Dutch revolt against Spain, however with independence the new country became a decentralized republic rather than a unitary monarchy.

In 1702, after William the Silent's great-grandson William III of England died without children, a dispute arose between his cousins, Johan Willem Friso and Frederick I of Prussia. In 1713, under the Treaty of Utrecht^[3] Frederick William I of Prussia ceded the Principality of Orange to King Louis XIV of France (while retaining the title as part of his dynastic titulature). In 1732, under the Treaty of Partition,^[4] Friso's son, William IV agreed to share use of the title "Prince of Orange" (which had accumulated prestige in the Netherlands and throughout the Protestant world) with Frederick William.^[5]

With the 19th century emergence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the title has been traditionally borne by the heir apparent of the Dutch monarch. Although originally only carried by men, since 1983 the title descends via absolute primogeniture, which means that the holder can be either Prince or Princess of Orange.

The current Dutch royal dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, is not the only family to claim the dynastical title. Rival claims to the title have been made by German emperors and kings of the House of Hohenzollern and by the head of the French noble family of Mailly. The current users of the title are Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (Orange-Nassau), Georg Friedrich (of Hohenzollern), and Guy (of Mailly-Nesle).

History

County of Orange

The title referred to Orange in the Vaucluse department in the Rhône valley of southern France, which was a property of the House of Orange, then of the House of Baux and the House of Chalon-Arlay before passing in 1544 to the Dillenburg branch of the House of Nassau, which since then is known as the House of Orange-Nassau.

The Principality originated as the County of Orange, a fief in the Holy Roman Empire, in the Empire's constituent Kingdom of Burgundy. It was awarded to William of Gellone (born 755), 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 in the reconquest of 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 also ruled as count of Toulouse, duke of Aquitaine,^{[citation needed]} and marquis of Septimania.

The horn that came to symbolize Orange when heraldry came in vogue much later in the 12th century represented a pun on William of Gellone's name in French, from the character his deeds inspired in the chanson de geste, the Chanson de Guillaume: "Guillaume au Court-nez" (William the Short-Nosed) or its homophone "Guillaume au Cornet" (William the Horn).^[6] The chanson appears to incorporate material relating to William of Gellone's battle at the Orbieu or Orbiel river near Carcassonne in 793 as well as to his seizure of the town of Orange.^[7]

Principality of Orange

As the kingdom of Burgundy fragmented in the early Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa elevated the lordship of Orange 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 formerly exercised.^[6]: 7 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 any suzerain; neither the Pope, nor the Kings of Spain or France.^[8][9] That historical position of honor and reputation would later drive William the Silent forward, as much as it also fueled the opposition of his great grandson William III to Louis XIV, when that king invaded and occupied Orange.

The last direct descendant of the original princes, René of Chalon, exercised his sovereign right and left the principality to his cousin William the Silent, who was not a descendant of the original Orange family but the heir to the principality of Orange by testament. This was, however, against the inheritance pattern enacted by the last will of Mary of Baux-Orange, the Princess of Orange from the House of Baux who brought the principality into the Chalons family and through to whom Prince René derived his own inheritance right (see Genealogy of the House of Orange-Chalon). In this way, Rene transmitted his property to his nearest relative, rather than go back several generations to transmit it to now distant cousins.

Those now distant cousins were the descendants of Alix de Chalon. Marie des Baux-Orange had stipulated in her will that if her son Louis did not inherit Orange, her daughter Alix and her descendants should. Guillaume de Vienne, seigneur de Saint-Georges,^[10] was the husband of Alix. They had a daughter Marguerite, who married in 1449 Rudolf of Baden-Hochberg, lord of Neuchâtel and Rothelin (1427–87). Their son was Philip (d. 1503). His only child who reached maturity was Johanna (d. 1543). She married in 1504 Louis I of Orléans, duc de Longueville (1450–1516). Through this marriage, the Orléans-Longueville, an illegitimate branch of the house of Valois, were the claimants of Orange until their extinction in male line in 1694^{[11][circular reference]}(see Famille d'Orléans-Longueville). When William the Silent of Nassau succeeded as prince of Orange, the Orléans-Longueville protested and obtained court decisions in their favor in France. However, as Orange was a sovereign state and not part of France, the courts' decisions were not enforceable and left the principality in the hands of the Nassau-Orange family.

In 1673, Louis XIV of France annexed all territory of the principality to France and to the royal domain, as part of the war actions against the stadtholder William III of Orange — who later became King William III of Great Britain. Orange ceased to exist as a sovereign realm, de facto. Louis then bestowed the titular princedom on Louis Charles de Mailly, marquis de Nesle, whose wife was a direct descendant, and heiress-general by primogeniture, of the original princes of Orange,^[12]

After the marquise (who died in 1713), the next holder was Louis of Mailly-Nesle [fr], marquis de Nesle (1689–1764). Although no longer descended from Louis-Charles, a branch of the Mailly family still claim the title today.

In 1714 Louis XIV bestowed the usufruct of the principality on his kinsman, Louis Armand of Bourbon, Prince de Conti, who had a claim on the principality through the claims of the Orléans-Longueville via Alix of Chalon (see above). After his death in 1727 the principality was deemed merged in the Crown by 1731.^[13]

After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ceded Orange to France, the following claimants came forward in official protests against the terms of the treaty:^[14]

• the house of Luynes/Maison d'Albert de Luynes (protest, 14 Apr 1713)
• the house of Matignon (protest, 15 Apr and 2 Jun 1713)
• Paule-Françoise-Marguerite de Gondi de Retz, duchesse douairière de Lesdiguières, and the house of Villeroy/Maison de Neufville de Villeroy (16 Apr 1713; also claimants to Neufchatel and Valengin)
• the house of Allegre (protest, 15 Apr 1713)
• the house of Duprat (protest, 15 Apr 1713)

However, as the treaty considered Orange to now be conquered by and annexed to France, their protests were ignored.

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.^[15] 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, Viersen, the land of Kessel, and the lordships of Afferden, Arcen-Velden-Lomm, Walbeck-Twisteden, Raay and Klein-Kevelaer, Well, Bergen, and Middelaar) into a new Principality of Orange.^[16] 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 cognatically descended 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, who had inherited Orange from his cousin René of Chalon. They did however have a claim, albeit distant, to the principality itself due to John William Friso's descent from Louise de Coligny, who was a descendant of the original Princes of Orange. (Louise's great grandmother, Anne Pot, Countess of Saint-Pol, was a descendant of Tiburge d'Orange, who married into the des Baux family)

They could also claim descent from the del Balzo, an Italian branch of the des Baux family, via the marriage of Princess Anne to William IV, Prince of Orange. Anne was the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain, who was a descendant of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV of England. Elizabeth Woodville's grandmother was Margherita del Balzo, another descendant of Tiburge d'Orange.

They also claimed on the basis of the testaments of Philip William, Maurice, and William III. Finally, they claimed on the basis that Orange was an independent state whose sovereign had the right to assign his succession according to his will. France never recognized any of this, nor allowed the Orange-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 into a new principality of Orange.^{[18] [19][20]} From that derivation of the title comes the tradition of the House of Orange-Nassau (originally Nassau-Dietz), 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.

There are two other^[21] claimants to this title:

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

Bearers of the title

As Counts of Orange

First House of Orange

No	Name	Picture	Arms	Birth	Became Count(ess) of Orange	Ceased to be Count(ess)	Death	Other titles	Spouse
1.	Pons de Mevouillon								Blismodis
2.	Pons II de Mevouillon								Richilde
3.	Laugier de Nice								Odile de Provence
3.	Rambaud de Nice								Accelena d'Apt
4.	Bertrand-Rambaud d'Orange								1. Adélaïde de Cavenez Gerberge
5.	Raimbaut II (or in French)		[citation needed]						?
6.	Tiburge d'Orange								1. Giraud Adhémar de Monteil 2. Guillaume d'Aumelas
7.	Raimbaut III of Orange							Lord of Aumelas	None

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.^{[clarification needed]} 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 of Gerberga, the heiress of the counts of Provence.^[6] For a genealogical table, see the reference cited:^[22]

No	Name	Picture	Arms	Birth	Created Prince of Orange	Ceased to be Prince of Orange	Death	Other titles while Prince of Orange	Princess of Orange
1.	Prince Bertrand I			1110/1115	1173 After the death of his brother-in-law, Raimbaut, Count of Orange, the County of Orange was elevated to a principality in 1163 by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I.[clarification needed]	April/October 1180		Lord of Baux	Tibors de Sarenom

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

No	Name	Arms	Birth	Became Prince of Orange	Ceased to be Prince of Orange	Death	Other titles while Prince of Orange	Princess of Orange
2.	Prince William I		1155	31 October 1180	bef. 30 July 1218		Co-Prince (with brothers); Lord of Baux	1. Ermengarde of Mévouillon 2. Alix
3.	Prince William II		–	31 October 1180	bef. 1 November 1239		Co-Prince (with his brother); Lord of Baux	Précieuse
4.	Prince William III		–	aft. 1 November 1239	1257		Co-Prince (with his uncle); Lord of Baux	Giburg
5.	Prince Raymond I		–	bef. 30 July 1218	1282		Co-Prince (with his brother and nephew) Lord of Baux	Malberjone of Aix
6.	Prince Bertrand II		–	1282	aft. 21 July 1314		Lord of Baux	Eleanore of Geneva
7.	Prince Raymond II		–	aft. 21 July 1314	1340, aft. 9 September		Lord of Baux and Condorcet	Anne of Viennois
8.	Prince Raymond III		–	aft. 9 September 1340	10 February 1393		Lord of Baux	1. Constance of Trian 2. Jeanne of Geneva
9.	Princess Mary		–	10 February 1393	October 1417		Lady of Arlay, Cuiseaux, and Vitteaux	Prince John I

House of Chalon-Orange (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.

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Prince_of_Orange
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No	Name	Picture	Arms	Birth	Became Prince of Orange	Ceased to be Prince of Orange	Death	Other titles while Prince of Orange	Princess of Orange
10.	Prince John I	none		–	10 February 1393	October 1417	2 September 1418	Lord of Arlay, Cuiseaux and Vitteaux	Princess Mary
11.	Prince Louis I	none		1390	October 1417	3 December 1463		Lord of Arlay, Arguel, Orbe, and Echelens	1. Jeanne of Montbéliard 2. Eleanor d'Armagnac 3. Blanche of Gamaches
12.	Prince William II	none		–	3 December 1463	27 September 1475		Lord of Arlay and Arguel	Catherine of Brittany
13.	Prince John II