The Netherlands is located in northwestern Europe and borders Germany, Belgium, and the North Sea.
Prince of Orange is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange is known as the Vader des Vaderlands (Father of the Fatherland) and is the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the Dutch monarchs. When Willem’s childless cousin René of Châlon, Prince of Orange died in 1544, he left the Principality of Orange to Willem. Over the years, the title Prince of Orange became prestigious in the Netherlands and throughout the Protestant world despite losing the territory that had originally gone with the title. The Princes of Orange were also Stadtholders of various Dutch provinces during the period of the Dutch Republic and gained much power.
After the defeat of Napoleon, Willem VI, Prince of Orange, urged on by the powers who met at the Congress of Vienna, proclaimed the Netherlands a monarchy on March 16, 1815. After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his second exile, the Congress of Vienna formally confirmed Willem as the hereditary ruler, King Willem I, of what was known as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Today, the title Prince/Princess of Orange is held by the heir apparent of the Dutch monarch and the Dutch Royal Family are members of the House of Orange-Nassau.
At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg was made a Grand Duchy and united in a personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The King of the Netherlands was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg remained in personal union with the Netherlands until the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890. His successor was his daughter Wilhelmina who could not inherit the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg due to the Salic Law which prevented female succession. The new Grand Duke of Luxembourg was Adolphe who had been Duke of Nassau until it was annexed to Prussia in 1866. The Grand Ducal Family was then, and still is, members of the House of Nassau-Weilburg.
Below is an indexed listing with links to biographical articles about the Dutch Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty. If it says “Notable Issue” before a name, that means not all of the children for the parent of that person are listed. Also listed below are links to Dutch Royal Wedding articles, and the various Dutch Content Areas.
House of Orange-Nassau: Princes of Orange (1559 – 1815)
Family of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange
- Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange (reigned 1559 – 1584, assassinated)
- Anna van Egmont, Princess of Orange (1st wife of Willem the Silent)
- Notable Issue: Filips Willem, Prince of Orange (see below)
- Anna of Saxony, Princess of Orange (2nd wife of Willem the Silent, divorced)
- Notable Issue: Maurits, Prince of Orange (see below)
- Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier, Princess of Orange (3rd wife of Willem the Silent, had issue)
- Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange (4th wife of Willem the Silent)
- Notable Issue: Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange (see below)
Filips Willem, Prince of Orange
- Filips Willem, Prince of Orange (reigned 1584 – 1618)
- Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé, Princess of Orange (wife of Filips Willem, no issue)
Maurits, Prince of Orange
- Maurits, Prince of Orange (reigned 1618 – 1625, unmarried)
Family of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange
- Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange (reigned 1625 -1647)
- Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, Princess of Orange (wife of Frederik Hendrik)
- Notable Issue: Willem II, Prince of Orange (see below)
Family of Willem II, Prince of Orange
- Willem II, Prince of Orange (reigned 1647 -1650)
- Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange (wife of Willem II)
- William III, King of England, Prince of Orange (see below)
William III, Prince of Orange, King of England
- William III, Prince of Orange, King of England (reigned 1672 -1702)
- Mary II, Queen of England, Princess of Orange (wife of Willem III, no issue)
Family of Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange
- Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange (grandson of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange, reigned 1702 – 1711)
- Marie Luise of Hesse-Kassel, Princess of Orange (wife of Johan Willem Friso)
- Notable Issue: Willem IV, Prince of Orange (see below)
Family of Willem IV, Prince of Orange
- Willem IV, Prince of Orange (reigned 1711 – 1751)
- Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange (wife of Willem IV)
- Notable Issue: Willem V, Prince of Orange (see below)
Family of Willem V, Prince of Orange
- Willem V, Prince of Orange (reigned 1751 – 1806)
- Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (wife of Willem V)
- Notable Issue: King Willem I (see below)
House of Orange-Nassau: Kings/Queens of the Netherlands (1815 – present)
Family of King Willem I of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- King Willem I of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, (reigned as Willem VI, Prince of Orange 1806 – 1815, reigned as King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1815 – 1840, abdicated)
- Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (wife of Willem I)
- Notable Issue: King Willem II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (see below)
Family of King Willem II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- King Willem II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (reigned 1840 – 1849)
- Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (wife of Willem II)
- Notable Issue: King Willem III of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (see below)
- Notable Issue: Sophie of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Family of King Willem III of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- King Willem III (reigned as King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1849 – 1890)
- Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1st wife of Willem III)
- Had three sons, all unmarried and all predeceased their father
- Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (2nd wife of Willem III)
- Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (see below)
Family of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
- Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (reigned 1890 – 1948, abdicated in favor of her daughter)
- Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands (Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, husband of Wilhelmina)
- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (see below)
Family of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (reigned 1948 – 1980, abdicated in favor of her daughter)
- Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, husband of Juliana)
- Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (see below)
- Princess Irene of the Netherlands
- Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
- Princess Christina of the Netherlands
Family of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (reigned 1980 – 2013, abdicated in favor of her son)
- Prince Claus of the Netherlands (Claus van Amsberg, husband of Beatrix)
- King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (see below)
- Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
- Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau (Mabel Wisse Smit, widow of Friso)
- Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
- Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands (Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst, wife of Constantijn)
Family of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
- King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (reigned 2013 – present)
- Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, wife of Willam-Alexander)
Other Dutch Royals
- Louise of the Netherlands, Queen of Sweden (granddaughter of King Willem I of the Netherlands)
Dutch Royal Ceremonies and Events
- Accession to the Throne and Inauguration
- Dutch Royal Christenings
- Dutch Royal Weddings
- King’s Day (April 27 or April 26 if April 27 is a Sunday)
- Prince’s Day (Third Tuesday of September)
Dutch Miscellaneous Articles
- Ancestors of King Willem-Alexander
- Ancestors of Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
- Assassination of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange (1584)
- Dutch Royal Regalia
- First Cousins: King Willem-Alexander
- Great Church (St. Jacobskerk) in The Hague, the Netherlands
- How are current European monarchs related to each other?
- Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Delft, the Netherlands