William, Prince of Orange (Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik; 4 September 1840 – 11 June 1879), was

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

from 17 March 1849 until his death.

Early life

Prince William was the eldest son of King

William III of the Netherlands William III ( Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in ...

and his first wife, Princess Sophie of Württemberg. His nickname was ''Wiwill''. At his birth, he held the third position in the

line of succession to the Dutch throne Since 1983, the crown of the Netherlands passes according to absolute primogeniture. From 1814 until 1887, a monarch could only be succeeded by their closest female relative if there were no eligible male relatives. Male-preference cognatic pri ...

. He was also seventeenth in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 a ...

, his claim being through his mother's great-grandmother Princess Augusta of Great Britain. On 7 October 1840, only a month after his birth, his great-grandfather, the reigning King

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

, abdicated the throne due to disappointment over the recent Treaty of London, which recognized the independence of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(previously provinces of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

), and the intention of marrying a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

noblewoman, Henrietta d'Oultremont. In 1849, after the death of his grandfather King

William II of the Netherlands William II ( nl, Willem Frederik George Lodewijk, anglicized as William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849) was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. William II was the son of Wil ...

, he became

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The titl ...

. His Victorian upbringing turned out to be a disaster.

Failed marriages

After the failed plans for a marriage between Prince William and

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary; 25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from 13 June 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Louis IV. She was the third child and second daughter of Quee ...

, the second daughter of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, the prince fell in love with the 19-year-old Countess Mathilde von

Limburg-Stirum The House of Limburg-Stirum (or Limburg-Styrum), which adopted its name in the 12th century from the immediate county of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, is one of the oldest families in Europe. It is the eldest and only surviving br ...

in 1873. The relationship between the prince and his parents became very problematic, as his parents refused William's wish to accept Mathilde as his bride in 1874. By the standards of the Dutch royal family, a marriage between a member of the royal family and a member of the nobility was considered unequal and therefore unacceptable. Also a rumour circulated that Mathilda was an illegitimate daughter of king William III and so William could be marrying his half-sister. The 33-year-old William wanted to marry, if necessary, without the consent of his parents. However, Mathilda was not yet twenty and so permission was needed from her parents too. Since they denied permission, the prince's attempt to marry Mathilda failed. She finally married in 1881 Baron Reginald van

Tuyll Tuyll is the name of a noble Dutch family, with familial and historical links to England, whose full name is Van Tuyll van Serooskerken. Several knights, members of various courts, literary figures, generals, ambassadors, statesmen and explorers ...

(1845–1903, who may have inspired the eponymous character in

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

's book ''Indiscretions of Archie'', 1921). She died on 14 May 1932, at age 77 at

Popham, Hampshire Popham is a hamlet and civil parish south of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. According to the Post Office the population of the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Dummer. The area was occupied from pre-historic times and was estab ...

, in England, nearby her daughter Julia Sheffield, Lady Sheffield.

Death and aftermath

Heavily disillusioned with his situation in the Netherlands, Prince William then went into exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where he threw himself into a life of sex, drinking and gambling. He shared this life with Henriette Hauser (also Hausser), his

ian

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

, a "boulevard theatre" actress. The Duke de Gramont-Caderousse, a French fellow hedonist, gave him the nickname "Prince Lemon" 'le prince Citron'' in French the nickname became popular among the regulars in the recently created boulevards and the Parisian newspapers when they reported about his debauched lifestyle. Prince William died at the age of 38 in his apartment in the Rue Auber, near the Paris Opera from a combination of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

, liver complaints and total exhaustion. On 26 June 1879 his body was entombed in the royal crypt at the New Church of Delft. On his coffin there was a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

from French empress Eugénie de Montijo and one from the future

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, who had been his fellow debauchee. After his death, his brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

became heir-apparent and Prince of Orange. However he also died before their father, who was now without sons. The States-General adopted

cognatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

in 1888.

Honours

* : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (civil), ''21 October 1861''

Ancestry

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:William, Prince of Orange 1840 births 1879 deaths Princes of Orange Princes of Orange-Nassau Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church House of Orange-Nassau Heirs apparent who never acceded Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Burials in the Royal Crypt at Nieuwe Kerk, Delft Deaths from typhus Dutch expatriates in France Sons of kings