William of Orange (1533-1584)
William of Nassau was the oldest son of Count Willem of Nassau and Juliana van Stolberg. When his cousin René de Chalon (see Orange and Nassau) died in 1544, William was still living with his parents.
Emperor Charles V allowed William to accept the inheritance from his cousin on two conditions: first, that he complete his education at the imperial court in Brussels, and second, that he be raised a Catholic. William’s Lutheran parents agreed, and from that moment on, William was the Prince of Orange.
The Emperor took a liking to the young Prince, which helped William’s swift rise to high office. In 1559 the Emperor’s successor as sovereign lord of the Low Countries, his son King Philip II of Spain, appointed William stadholder (viceroy) of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht. After that the relationship between the two men deteriorated rapidly. William took issue with the King’s efforts to centralise government in Brussels, and objected to Philip’s persecution of the Protestants.