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Imperial favourite

Being a ward of Charles V and having received his education under the tutelage of the Emperor's sister Mary, William came under the particular attention of the imperial family, and became a favourite. He was appointed captain in the cavalry in 1551 and received rapid promotion thereafter, becoming commander of one of the Emperor's armies at the age of 22. This was in 1555, when Charles sent him to Bayonne with an army of 20,000 to take the city in a siege from the French. William was also mad...

From politician to rebel

Although he never directly opposed the Spanish king, William soon became one of the most prominent members of the opposition in the Council of State, together with Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, and Lamoral, Count of Egmont. They were mainly seeking more political power for themselves against the de facto government of Count Berlaymont, Granvelle and Viglius of Aytta, but also for the Dutch nobility and, ostensibly, for the Estates, and complained that too many Spaniards were involved...

War

In October 1568, William responded by leading a large army into Brabant, but Alba carefully avoided a decisive confrontation, expecting the army to fall apart quickly. As William advanced, disorder broke out in his army, and with winter approaching and money running out, William turned back and crossed into France.William made several more plans to invade in the next few years, but little came of them, since he lacked support and money. He remained popular with the public, in part through an...

Succession and family ties

Philip William, William's eldest son by his first marriage, to Anna of Egmond, succeeded him as the Prince of Orange. However, as Philip William was a hostage in Spain and had been for most of his life, his brother Maurice of Nassau was appointed Stadholder and Captain-General at the suggestion of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, and as a counterpoise to the Earl of Leicester. Phillip William died in Brussels on 20 February 1618 and was succeeded by his half-brother Maurice, the eldest son by Willi...

Epithet

There are several explanations for the origin of the style, "William the Silent". The most common one relates to his prudence in regard to a conversation with Henry II, the king of France. Exactly when and by whom the nickname "the Silent" was used for the first time is not known with certainty. It is traditionally ascribed to Cardinal de Granvelle, who is said to have referred to William as "the silent one" sometime during the troubles of 1567. Both the nickname and the accompanying anecdote...

Popular culture

1. One need not hope to undertake, nor succeed to persevere. This proverb is often attributed to William, but it has not been found in his written texts, and it is also attributed to William II, William III and Charles the Bold. 2. He is featured as a playable leader in the computer strategy game series Civilization, appearing in Civilization III: Conquests, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, and Civilization V: Gods & Kings. 3. A Dutch YouTube channel called Studio Massa has a series of vide...

First marriage

On 6 July 1551, the 18-year-old William married Anna van Egmond en Buren, aged 18 and the wealthy heiress to the lands of her father. William thus gained the titles Lord of Egmond and Count of Buren. The couple had a happy marriage and became the parents of three children together; their son Philip Williamwould succeed William as prince. Anna died on 24 March 1558, leaving William much grieved. A couple of years after Anna's death, William had a brief relationship with Eva Elincx, a commoner,...

Second marriage

On 25 August 1561, William of Orange married for the second time. His new wife, Anna of Saxony, was tumultuous, and it is generally assumed that William married her to gain more influence in Saxony, Hesse and the Palatinate. The couple had two sons and three daughters. One of the sons died in infancy and the other son, the famous Maurice of Nassau, who was to eventually succeed his father as stadtholder, never married. Anna died after Willem renounced her and her own family imprisoned her in...

Third marriage

William married for the third time on 12 June 1575 to Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier, a former French nun, who was also popular with the public. They had six daughters. The marriage, which seems to have been a love match on both sides, was happy. Charlotte allegedly died from exhaustion while trying to nurse her husband after an assassination attempt in 1582.Though William was outwardly stoical, it was feared that his grief might cause a fatal relapse. Charlotte's death was widely mourned.

A noble's power was generally based on his ownership of vast tracts of land and lucrative offices. Besides being ruler over the principality of Orange and a Knight of the Golden Fleece, William possessed other estates, mostly enfeoffed to some other sovereign, either the King of France or the imperial Habsburgs. As holder of these fiefs, he was int...