Prince of Ligne is a title of Belgian nobility that belongs to the House of Ligne, which goes back to the eleventh century. It owes its name to the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai.[1] The lords of Ligne belonged to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the Crusades.[2]
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The Ligne family began a progressive rise in the nobility, first as barons in the twelfth century, then counts of Fauquemberg and princes of Épinoy in the sixteenth century. Lamoral I received the titles of Prince of Ligne and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in the early seventeenth century from EmperorRudolf II. The Princes of Ligne are also Grandees of Spain, but this dignity is held personally rather than in conjunction with the title.
Jean II, Baron of Ligne and Brabançon, Lord of Beloeil (died 1442)
Jean III, Baron of Ligne 1442–1469 (died 1469)
Jean IV, Baron of Ligne, Lord of Roubaix 1469–1491 (died 1491)
Antoine I, Baron of Ligne and Beloeil 1491–1532, Count of Fauquemberg, created 1st Prince de Mortagne 1513 (died 1532)
Jacques I, Baron of Ligne and Beloeil, Count of Fauquemberg 1532-1545 (died 1552), created 1st Count of Ligne 1545
Guillaume, inherited Brabançon, ancestor of Dukes of Arenberg in male line (died c.1519)
Jacques I, 1st Count of Ligne in 1545–c. 1552, Count of Fauquemberg, Prince de Mortagne, Baron de Belœil (died c. 1552)
Philippe, 2nd Count of Ligne c. 1552–1583, Count of Fauquemberg, Baron de Wassenaer et de Bailleul, Vicomte de Leiden (1533–1583)
Lamoral, 3rd Count of Ligne in 1583–1601, created 1st Prince d'Épinoy 1592 (1563–1624), created Fürst von Ligne 1601
Prince Edouard Lamoral Rodolphe of Ligne-La Trémoïlle (born 1976)
Prince Antoine Tau Édouard Adrien of Ligne-La Trémoille (born 2019)
Prince Charles Lamoral Joseph Malcolm of Ligne-La Trémoïlle (born 1980)
Prince Amadeo Joseph Gabriel of Ligne-La Trémoïlle (born 2012)
Many of the Princes de Ligne have also been knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The following list is of those princes, along with their year of investiture:
