List of monarchs of the Netherlands

This is a list of monarchs of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koningen der Nederlanden). By practical extension, the list includes the stadtholders of the House of Orange Nassau since 1556. However, they were voted into office by, and were civil servants and generals of, the semi-independent provinces of the Dutch Republic and cannot be seen as monarchs. From William IV they were the direct male line ancestors of later monarchs when the monarchy was established in 1813 (first as a Sovereign Principality, but in 1815 as a Kingdom).

Coat of arms of the Netherlands

Dutch Republic (1581–1795)

Further information: List of stadtholders in the Netherlands

See also: List of Grand Pensionaries

The origin of the Dutch monarchy can be traced back to the appointment of William I, Prince of Orange as stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht in 1559 by Philip II of Spain. However, he was removed from office and became the leader of the Dutch Revolt. Consequently, the States-General appointed him as stadtholder of both rebelling provinces, Holland and Zeeland, in 1572. During the Dutch Revolt, most of the Dutch provinces declared their independence with the Act of Abjuration, signed on 26 July 1581 in The Hague in conformation with the decision made by the States-General. The representative function of the stadtholder became obsolete in the rebellious northern Netherlands – the feudal Lord himself having been abolished – but the office nevertheless continued in these provinces who now united themselves into the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. All stadtholders after William I were drawn from his descendants or the descendants of his brother, who were also the descendants of his granddaughter Albertina Agnes of Nassau-Orange.

In 1795 the Republic was overthrown by the French Republic and replaced with the Batavian Republic. In 1806 Napoleon abolished the new republic and made his brother King of Holland. However, in 1810 Napoleon invaded the Netherlands and annexed them to France. In 1813, Allied forces drove out the French. The Dutch called back William Frederick, the son of the last stadtholder, to head the new government. He was proclaimed "sovereign prince". In 1815, he raised the Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself King William I. The kingdom was enlarged with the Southern Netherlands, now Belgium and Luxembourg, soon after.

Stadtholderate under the House of Orange-Nassau

Further information: List of stadtholders in the Netherlands

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
William I the Silent Willem I	(1533-04-24)24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584(1584-07-10) (aged 51)	26 July 1581	10 July 1584	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 1] son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg	Orange-Nassau
Maurice Maurits	(1567-11-14)14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625(1625-04-23) (aged 57)	14 November 1585[1]	23 April 1625	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 2] son of William I and Anna of Saxony	Orange-Nassau
Frederick Henry Frederik Hendrik	(1584-01-29)29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647(1647-03-14) (aged 63)	23 April 1625	14 March 1647	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 3] son of William I and Louise de Coligny	Orange-Nassau
William II Willem II	(1626-05-27)27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650(1650-11-06) (aged 24)	14 March 1647	6 November 1650	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 4] son of Frederick Henry and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels	Orange-Nassau
William III Willem III	(1650-11-04)4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702(1702-03-08) (aged 51)	4 July 1672	8 March 1702	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 5] son of William II and Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange also King of England, Scotland and Ireland	Orange-Nassau
William IV Willem IV	(1711-09-01)1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751(1751-10-22) (aged 40)	4 May 1747	22 October 1751	First formally hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands,[lower-alpha 6] son of John William Friso and Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel	Orange-Nassau
William V Willem V	(1748-03-08)8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806(1806-04-09) (aged 58)	22 October 1751	19 January 1795	Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands, son of William IV and Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, deposed by the Batavian Revolution	Orange-Nassau

When William III died childless, the patrilineal ancestry of Orange-Nassau became extinct. In contrast to other provinces of the Dutch Republic, Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe had mostly drawn its stadtholders from the House of Nassau, that starting with John VI, the brother of William of Orange, and comprises in addition a matrilineal ancestry with the house of Orange-Nassau.

Stadtholderate under the House of Nassau

Further information: List of stadtholders in the Netherlands

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
John VI the Elder Jan VI	(1536-11-22)22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606(1606-10-08) (aged 69)	1578	1581	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 7] son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg, brother of William I	Nassau
William Louis Our Father Willem Lodewijk	(1560-03-13)13 March 1560 – 31 May 1620(1620-05-31) (aged 60)	1584	1620	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 8] son of John VI and Countess Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg	Nassau
Ernest Casimir I Ernst Casimir I	(1573-12-22)22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632(1632-06-02) (aged 58)	1620	1632	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 9] son of John VI and Countess Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg	Nassau
Henry Casimir I Hendrik Casimir I	(1612-01-21)21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640(1640-07-13) (aged 28)	1632	1640	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 10] son of Ernest Casimir I and Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg	Nassau
William Frederick Willem Frederik	(1613-08-07)7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664(1664-10-31) (aged 51)	1640	1664	Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 11] son of Ernest Casimir I and Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg	Nassau
Henry Casimir II Hendrik Casimir II	(1657-01-18)18 January 1657 – 25 March 1696(1696-03-25) (aged 39)	18 January 1664	25 March 1696	Hereditary Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 12] son of William Frederick and Albertine Agnes of Nassau, maternal grandson of Frederick Henry	Nassau
John William Friso Johan Willem Friso	(1687-08-04)4 August 1687 – 14 July 1711(1711-07-14) (aged 23)	25 March 1696	14 July 1711	Hereditary Stadtholder,[lower-alpha 13] son of Henry Casimir II and Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau, succeeded by his son William IV of Orange-Nassau, Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands	Nassau

Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Louis I the Good Lodewijk I	(1778-09-02)2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846(1846-07-25) (aged 67)	5 June 1806	1 July 1810	Son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon	Bonaparte
Louis II Lodewijk II	(1804-10-11)11 October 1804 – 17 March 1831(1831-03-17) (aged 26)	1 July 1810	9 July 1810	Son of Louis I and Hortense de Beauharnais	Bonaparte

Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands (1813–1815)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
William Frederick Willem Frederik	(1772-08-24)24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843(1843-12-12) (aged 71)	6 December 1813	16 March 1815	Son of the last Stadtholder William V and Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange, raised the Netherlands to a Kingdom status in 1815	Orange-Nassau

Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–present)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
William I Willem I	(1772-08-24)24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843(1843-12-12) (aged 71)	16 March 1815	7 October 1840	Son of the last Stadtholder William V and Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange Abdicated	Orange-Nassau
William II Willem II	(1792-12-06)6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849(1849-03-17) (aged 56)	7 October 1840	17 March 1849	Son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia	Orange-Nassau
William III Willem III	(1817-02-19)19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890(1890-11-23) (aged 73)	17 March 1849	23 November 1890	Son of William II and Anna Pavlovna of Russia	Orange-Nassau
Wilhelmina	(1880-08-31)31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962(1962-11-28) (aged 82)	23 November 1890	4 September 1948	Daughter of William III and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont Abdicated	Orange-Nassau
Juliana	(1909-04-30)30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004(2004-03-20) (aged 94)	4 September 1948	30 April 1980	Daughter of Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Abdicated	Orange-Nassau
Beatrix	(1938-01-31) 31 January 1938 (age 86)	30 April 1980	30 April 2013	Daughter of Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Abdicated	Orange-Nassau
William-Alexander Willem-Alexander	(1967-04-27) 27 April 1967 (age 57)	30 April 2013	Incumbent	Son of Beatrix and Prince Claus, Jonkheer van Amsberg	Orange-Nassau

See also

• Style of the Dutch sovereign
• Regalia of the Netherlands
• Royal Standard of the Netherlands
• Line of succession to the Dutch throne
• List of heirs to the Dutch throne
• List of rulers of the Netherlands
• Inauguration of the Dutch monarch
• List of Dutch royal consorts

Notes

1. Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht (1559–1584), Stadtholder of Friesland and Overijssel (1580–1584)
2. Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland (1585–1625), Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel (1590–1625), Groningen (1620–1625)
3. Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel (1620–1625), Groningen and Drenthe (1640–1647)
4. Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel
5. Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Overijssel (1672–1702), Guelders (1675–1702), Drenthe (1696–1702)
6. Hereditary Stadtholder of Friesland (1711–1747), Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Overijssel (April/May 1747 – November 1747), Stadtholder of Groningen (1718–1747), Guelders and Drenthe (1722–1747), was formally voted the first Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Provinces (1747–1751)
7. Stadtholder of Guelders (under Philip II), architect of the Union of Utrecht
8. Stadtholder of Friesland (1584–1620), Groningen (1594–1620) and Drenthe (1596–1620)
9. Stadtholder of Friesland (1620–1632), Groningen and Drenthe (1625–1632)
10. Stadtholder of Friesland (1632–1640), Groningen and Drenthe (1632–1640)
11. Stadtholder of Friesland (1640–1664), Groningen and Drenthe (1650–1664)
12. In 1675 the State of Friesland voted to make the Stadtholdership hereditary in the house of Nassau-Dietz
13. Hereditary Stadtholder of Friesland (1707–1711) and Groningen (1708–1711)

References

1. Maurits benoemd als stadhouder, 1585, Europeana