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

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also 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 167 ...

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 language, 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 ...

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 behind his grandfather and father. He was also seventeenth in the

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

, his claim being through his mother's great-grandmother

Princess Augusta of Great Britain Augusta of Great Britain (Augusta Frederica; 31 July 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a British princess, granddaughter of George II and the only elder sibling of George III. She was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenb ...

. 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; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

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

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(previously provinces of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

), and the intention of marrying a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and Belgian noblewoman,

Henrietta d'Oultremont Countess Henriëtte Adriana Maria Ludovica Flora d'Oultremont de Wégimont (28 February 1792 in Maastricht–26 October 1864 at Rahe Castle in Aachen) was the second, morganatic, wife of the first Dutch king, William I. Being the morganatic ...

. In 1849, after the death of his grandfather King

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

, he became

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

. His

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

upbringing turned out to be a disaster.

Failed marriage attempts

After attempts to marry Prince William off to

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 Queen ...

, 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (; – 22 October 1920) was the sixth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine; she was Duchess of Edinburgh and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and G ...

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

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 survivin ...

in 1873. The relationship between the prince and his parents became very problematic, as his parents (who rarely agreed on anything) 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 Mathilde was an illegitimate daughter of King William III and so William would potentially be marrying his own half-sister. The 33-year-old William wanted to marry, if necessary, without the consent of his parents (this would have cost him his position in the line of succession). However Mathilde was not yet twenty and permission was needed from her parents too. Since they denied permission, the prince's attempt to marry Mathilde failed. She finally married in 1881 Baron Reginald van

Tuyll The Tuyll family is a Dutch noble 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 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

'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, Hampshire, Dummer. The area was occupied from pre-historic ...

, 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of 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 39 in his apartment in the Rue Auber, near the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

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 exposu ...

, liver complaints and total exhaustion. On 26 June 1879 his body was entombed in the royal

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

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 ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

from French Empress

Eugénie de Montijo Eugénie de Montijo (; born María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920) was Second French Empire, Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 ...

and one from the future King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

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

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

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 all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

in 1888. His half-sister, the future queen Wilhelmina, was born a year after his death.

Honours

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

Ancestry

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:William, Prince of Orange 1840 births 1880 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 Sons of dukes