John William Friso

John William Friso (Dutch: Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the Hollands Diep in 1711.^[1]

John William Friso
Prince of Orange
Reign	8 March 1702 – 14 July 1711
Predecessor	William III
Successor	William IV
Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Reign	25 March 1696 – ca. 1702
Predecessor	Henry Casimir II
Prince of Orange-Nassau
Reign	ca. 1702 – 14 July 1711
Successor	William IV
Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen
Reign	25 March 1696 – 14 July 1711
Predecessor	Henry Casimir II
Successor	William IV
Born	14 August 1687 Dessau, Anhalt
Died	14 July 1711(1711-07-14) (aged 23) Hollands Diep, between Dordrecht and Moerdijk
Burial	25 February 1712 Grote of Jacobijnerkerk, Leeuwarden
Spouse	Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel ​ ​ (m. 1709)​
Issue	Amalia, Hereditary Princess of Baden-Durlach William IV, Prince of Orange
House	Orange-Nassau
Father	Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Mother	Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau
Military service
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession Siege of Ostend Battle of Oudenarde Siege of Lille Crossing of the Scheldt Sieg of Ghent Battle of Malplaquet Siege of Mons Siege of Douai

Background

Friso was the son of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz, and Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau who were both first cousins of William III. As such, he was a member of the House of Nassau (the branch of Nassau-Dietz), and through the testamentary dispositions of William III became the progenitor of the new line of the House of Orange-Nassau.^[2] He was educated under Jean Lemonon, professor at the University of Franeker.^[3]

Succession

With the death of William III of Orange, the legitimate male line of William the Silent (the second House of Orange) became extinct. John William Friso, the senior agnatic descendant of William the Silent's brother and a cognatic descendant of Frederick Henry, grandfather of William III, claimed the succession as stadtholder in all provinces held by William III. This was denied to him by the republican faction in the Netherlands.^[4]

The five provinces over which William III ruled – Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel – all suspended the office of stadtholder after William III's death. The remaining two provinces – Friesland and Groningen – were never governed by William III, and continued to retain a separate stadtholder, John William Friso. He established the third House of Orange, which became extinct in the male line in 1890. His son, William IV of Orange, later became stadtholder of all seven provinces.^[5]

John William Friso's position as William III's heir general was opposed by King Frederick I of Prussia, who also claimed (and occupied) part of the inheritance (for example Lingen). Under William III's will, Friso stood to inherit the Principality of Orange. However, the Prussian King Frederick I also claimed the Principality of Orange in the Rhône Valley, of which he later ceded the territory to France.^[6]

Military career and death

Depiction of the drowning

On coming of age in 1707, John William Friso became a general of the Dutch troops during the War of Spanish Succession, under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, and turned out to be a competent officer. He was present at the Siege of Ostend, commanded Dutch infantry at the Battle of Oudenarde, the Siege of Lille, and the Battle of Malplaquet, while leading all operations at the Siege of Mons. The prestige that he acquired from his military service should have favored his eventual elevation as stadtholder in the remaining five provinces. However, in 1711, when traveling from the front in Flanders to meet the King of Prussia in The Hague in connection with his suit in the succession dispute, he drowned on 14 July when the ferry boat on the Moerdyk was overturned in heavy weather. His son was born six weeks after his death.^[7]

Marriage and issue

On 26 April 1709, Friso married Princess Maria Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and granddaughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland. They had two children.^{[citation needed]}

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Anna Charlotte Amalia	1710	1777	married Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach; had issue, including Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden
William IV, Prince of Orange	1711	1751	married Anne, Princess Royal; had issue, including William V, Prince of Orange

Royal descendants

Royal descendants of John William Friso and Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Currently reigning monarchs in bold.[citation needed]

John William Friso Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel William IV, Prince of Orange Princess Amalia of Nassau-Dietz William V, Prince of Orange Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden William I of the Netherlands Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden William II of the Netherlands Prince Frederick of the Netherlands William, Duke of Nassau Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg Duchess Amelia of Württemberg Duke Alexander of Württemberg Charles, Grand Duke of Baden Caroline of Baden Louise of the Netherlands Sophia of Nassau Princess Helena of Nassau Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg Francis, Duke of Teck Princess Josephine of Baden Princess Marie Amelie of Baden Princess Sophie of Bavaria William III of the Netherlands Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont Louise of Sweden Gustaf V of Sweden Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Maria Christina of Austria Olga Constantinovna of Russia Mary of Teck Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Christian X of Denmark Haakon VII of Norway Princess Ingeborg of Denmark Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Alfonso XIII of Spain Constantine I of Greece Prince Andrew of Greece George VI of the United Kingdom Albert I of Belgium Louis II, Prince of Monaco Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria Juliana of the Netherlands Olav V of Norway Princess Märtha of Sweden Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Paul of Greece Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein Beatrix of the Netherlands Harald V of Norway Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Juan Carlos I of Spain Princess Sophia of Greece Charles III of the United Kingdom Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Felipe VI of Spain Astrid of Sweden Leopold III of Belgium Frederik IX of Denmark Ingrid of Sweden Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium Albert II of Belgium Albert II, Prince of Monaco Margrethe II of Denmark Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Philippe of Belgium Frederik X of Denmark

Legacy

• Monuments in Moerdijk and Strijensas, on both sides of the historic ferry crossing across the Hollands Diep, commemorate the drowning of Johan Willem Friso.^[8]
• The Regiment Infantry Prins Johan Willem Friso (RI PJWF) is named in his honour.^{[citation needed]}
• Central Royal Military Band of the Netherlands Army "Johan Willem Friso" is named in his honour.^{[citation needed]}

Ancestry

Ancestors of John William Friso

8. Ernest Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz 4. William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz 9. Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg 2. Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz 10. Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (=14) 5. Albertine Agnes of Nassau 11. Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (=15) 1. John William Friso, Prince of Orange 12. John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 6. John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 13. Agnes of Hesse-Kassel 3. Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau 14. Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (=10) 7. Henriette Catherine of Nassau 15. Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (=11)

See also

• Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken – Became the most recent common ancestors of all reigning hereditary European monarchs in 2022 when Elizabeth II died and her son, Charles III became king.
• Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel – Common ancestors of many reigning hereditary European monarchs
  • Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

References

1. "John William Friso | Dutch Stadholder, Dutch Statesman, Dutch Reformer | Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
2. John William Friso. (2014). Encyclopædia Britannica
3. Green, Michaël (31 December 2012). "Educating Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711) of Nassau-Dietz. Huguenot Tutorship at the Court of the Frisian Stadtholders". Virtus | Journal of Nobility Studies. 19: 103–124. ISSN 1380-6130.
4. State, P. F. (2008). A Brief History of the Netherlands. New York: Facts on File.
5. State, P. F. (2008). A Brief History of the Netherlands. New York: Facts on File.
6. John William Friso. (2014). Encyclopædia Britannica
7. State, P. F. (2008). A Brief History of the Netherlands. New York: Facts on File.
8. "Monument in Moerdijk voor tragisch verdronken Willem Friso". RD.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 November 2020.

• Pieter Lodewijk Muller (1881), "Johann Wilhelm Friso", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 14, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 275–276

John William Friso House of Orange-Nassau (second creation) Cadet branch of the House of Nassau Born: 14 August 1687 Died: 14 July 1711
Dutch nobility
Preceded by William III	Prince of Orange 1702–1711	Vacant Title next held by William IV
Regnal titles
Preceded by Henry Casimir II	Prince of Nassau-Dietz 1696–1702	Title obsolete merged into German principality of Orange-Nassau
New title	Prince of Orange-Nassau 1702–1711	Succeeded by William IV
Preceded by William III	Baron of Breda 1702–1711
Political offices
Preceded by Henry Casimir II	Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen 1696–1711	Succeeded by William IV