Prince of Orange

Uncommon card · No. 82522

Prince of Orange or Princess of Orange (Dutch: Prins(es) van Oranje) is a title usually held by the heirs apparent to the throne of the Netherlands. It arose as a feudal title in the middle ages with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France, and was later held by the stadtholders of the Netherlands. The title "Prince of Orange" was created in 1163 by Holy Roman 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 René of Nassau in 1530. The principality then passed to René's cousin, the German-born nobleman from then Spanish Netherlands, William (known as "the Silent"), in 1544. Subsequently, William led a successful Dutch revolt against Spain; however, with independence, the new country became a decentralised republic rather than a unitary...

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