René III of Renesse, Viscount of Montenaecken, Baron of Gaesbeeck, Lord of Elderen (ca. 1580 –

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, 17 April 1637) was a Dutch nobleman, who became the 1st Count of Warfusée in 1609. He acquired Gaasbeek Castle in 1615.

Family

He was the eldest son of Guillaume de Renesse, lord of Warfusée and Anne of Rubempré, granddaughter of Charles IV, Lord of Rubempré. His Great-grand father was Henry III of Nassau-Breda, his grand mother was a legitimised daughter of Nassau. In 1610 he married Alberta of Egmont, daughter of Charles, 7th Count of Egmont, Prince de Gavre. After his death he was followed by His son Alexander de Renesse, 2nd Count of Warfusée. René de Renesse, 1st Count of Warfusée;
''Married to Albertine of Egmont'' ##Maria de Renesse-Warfusée (c.1620-?);
Married to Peter of Lalaing, Count of Rennenberg ##Florence-Marguerite de Renesse-Warfusée (c.1620-?);
''married to Eugène de Berghes, 2nd count of Grimbergen''. ### Philippe François de Berghes, 1st Prince of Grimberghen ##Louise-Elisabeth de Renesse-Warfusée ## Alexander de Renesse, Baron of Gaesbeeck.

Career

He was chairman of the Board of Finances in the Netherlands under

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

. He also commanded a royal regiment of Spanish troops, as well as travelling regularly to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

to the

States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated i ...

. He was involved in the Conspiracy of Nobles (1632) and made efforts to convince France to invade the Southern Netherlands in support of a planned revolt against Spanish rule. Accused of abuse of his office before the plan came to fruition, he fled to Liège and issued a manifesto against the government in Brussels. Charged with high treason, he was sentenced to banishment and his property was confiscated. He soon sought reconciliation with the Spanish government. On 16 April 1637 he invited the anti-Spanish mayor of Liège, Sébastien de La Ruelle, to a banquet to be held in his house the next day. Once he had him as a guest in his house, he had him killed by hidden Spanish troops. Renesse was then lynched by an angry mob.

Possessions

* In 1609 he became 1st Count of Warfusée by decree of Emperor Rudolf II * In 1615 he bought the estate of Heeze from Cleradius van Genève Lullin. * In the same year he became the ''Baron of Gaesbeeck''.

Memory

Renesse's conspiracy to murder the mayor of Liège formed the plot of a novel by Hendrik Conscience, ''Le Bourgmestre de Liège'' (1865).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renesse van Elderen, Rene van 1580s births 1637 deaths Counts of Renesse Military personnel from the Netherlands in the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)