List of rulers of the Netherlands

The Netherlands, or Low Countries, possessed clearly delineated boundaries only after 1500. Still in many respects they demonstrated common traits and underwent similar development that differentiated them from surrounding countries. The social, economic and political similarities evident throughout most of the region stem from the High Middle Ages, when the Scheldt, Maas and Rhine delta area became an important center of trade. Next to Northern Italy, the Low Countries became the most urbanised and prosperous region in Europe.

History of the Low Countries
Frisii			Belgae
	Cana- nefates	Chamavi, Tubantes		Gallia Belgica (55 BC – 5th c. AD) Germania Inferior (83 – 5th c.)
	Cana- nefates	Salian Franks		Batavi
unpopulated (4th–5th c.)		Saxons	Salian Franks (4th–5th c.)
Frisian Kingdom (6th c.–734)			Frankish Kingdom (481–843)—Carolingian Empire (800–843)
Frisian Kingdom (6th c.–734)		Austrasia (511–687)


Middle Francia (843–855)					West Francia (843–)
Kingdom of Lotharingia (855– 959) Duchy of Lower Lorraine (959–)					West Francia (843–)
Frisia
Frisian Freedom (11–16th century)	County of Holland (880–1432)	Bishopric of Utrecht (695–1456)	Duchy of Brabant (1183–1430) Duchy of Guelders (1046–1543)		County of Flanders (862–1384)	County of Hainaut (1071–1432) County of Namur (981–1421)	P.-Bish. of Liège (980–1794)	Duchy of Luxem- bourg (1059–1443)
	Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482)
	Habsburg Netherlands (1482–1795) (Seventeen Provinces after 1543)
Dutch Republic (1581–1795)				Spanish Netherlands (1556–1714)
				Austrian Netherlands (1714–1795)
				United States of Belgium (1790)			R. Liège (1789–'91)

Batavian Republic (1795–1806) Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810)				associated with French First Republic (1795–1804) part of First French Empire (1804–1815)

Princip. of the Netherlands (1813–1815)
United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)								Gr D. L. (1815–)
Kingdom of the Netherlands (1839–)				Kingdom of Belgium (1830–)				Gr D. L. (1815–)
								Gr D. of Luxem- bourg (1890–)

Its political system exhibited, from relatively early on, a degree of representative government that differed from the more feudal arrangements then existent in much of Europe. Internationally, the region served both as a mediator for and a buffer to the surrounding great powers, France, England, and Germany.[1]

Counts of Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands (1433–1581)

Burgundian dukes acquired a continuous territory covering most of modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands. By establishing the States General, Philip the Good centralised power, thereby laying the basis for the Netherlands as a single country with a common interest. The Burgundian dukes - and later the monarchs of Habsburg Spain - appointed stadtholders (place holders or deputies) in each one of its estates in the Netherlands.

In 1506, at the death of Philip the Handsome, the title "Lord of the Netherlands" or "Lord of Flanders" was given to his son and Duke of Burgundy Charles of Ghent (later Charles I in Spain and Charles V in the Holy Roman Empire). With the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, Charles completed the process of consolidation by becoming the sole feudal overlord of the Seventeen Provinces. In 1556, the Spanish Netherlands were established under the control of Philip II of Spain. In this political union, the stadtholders served under a governor-general, limiting their power and of the estates.

Name	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family
Philip I Philip the Good Filips de Goede	1433	1467	a.k.a. Philip III of Burgundy	Valois-Burgundy
Charles I Charles the Bold Karel de Stoute	1467	1477	a.k.a. duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Guelder and Luxembourg, count of Flanders, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Zutphen	Valois-Burgundy
Mary Mary the Rich Maria de Rijke	1477	1482	daughter of Charles I	Valois-Burgundy

Name	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family
Maximilian I Maximiliaan van Oostenrijk	1482	1494	a.k.a. Holy Roman Emperor[2]	Habsburg
Philip II Philip the Handsome Filips de Schone	1494	1506	a.k.a. king Philip I of Castile; son of Maximilian I	Habsburg
Charles II Karel II	1506	1555	son of Philip the Handsome; introduced title Lord of the Netherlands; a.k.a. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king Charles I of Spain; regent: Maximilian I (1506 to 1515); governors-general: William de Croÿ (1504-1507), Margaret of Austria (1507-1530) and Mary of Austria (1531-1555)	Habsburg
Philip III Filips III	1555	1581	Lord of the Netherlands; a.k.a. king Philip II of Spain; son of Charles I of Spain; governors-general: Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (1555-1559) and Margaret of Parma (1559-1567)	Habsburg

The Seven United Netherlands (1581–1795)

Unhappy with the centralisation of political power to Habsburg Spain, seven northern provinces seceded into the Dutch Republic: Groningen, Frisia, Overijssel, Guelders, Utrecht, Holland and Zeeland. They kept parts of Limburg, Brabant and Flanders during and after the Eighty Years' War as Generality Lands.

Military control was given to a stadtholder who in theory was elected by the States-General of the Netherlands of the now independent Dutch Republic. The function was de facto hereditary in Holland and Zeeland, and held by the Prince of Orange. Drawn from a side branch of the House of Orange, Frisia and Groningen had a different stadtholder, until 1711. The following centuries saw the republic being co-ruled by the grand pensionary of the states-general and the stadtholders, with continuous power struggle between the offices.

Stadtholderate under the House of Orange-Nassau

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family
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[3]	Orange-Nassau
Maurice Maurits	(1567-11-14)14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625(1625-04-23) (aged 57)	14 November 1585[4]	23 April 1625	Stadtholder,[5] son of William I	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,[6] son of William I	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,[7] son of Frederick Henry	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,[8] son of William II 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,[9] son of John William Friso	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, 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

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family
John VI the Elder Jan VI	(1536-11-22)22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606(1606-10-08) (aged 69)	1578	1581	Stadtholder,[10] 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,[11] son of John VI	Nassau
Ernest Casimir I Ernst Casimir I	(1573-12-22)22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632(1632-06-02) (aged 58)	1620	1632	Stadtholder,[12] son of John VI	Nassau
Henry Casimir I Hendrik Casimir I	(1612-01-21)21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640(1640-07-13) (aged 28)	1632	1640	Stadtholder,[13] son of Ernest Casimir I	Nassau
William Frederick Willem Frederik	(1613-08-07)7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664(1664-10-31) (aged 51)	1640	1664	Stadtholder,[14] son of Ernest Casimir I	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,[15] son of William Frederick and 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,[16] son of Henry Casimir II, succeeded by his son William IV of Orange-Nassau, Hereditary Stadtholder of the United Netherlands	Nassau

Grand Pensionaries of the Dutch Republic

Holland formally adopted the Act of Abjuration in 1581 to become a province in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Grand Pensionaries of the province of Holland during the time of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands:

Prince's Faction

States' Faction

Unknown/neutral

Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office
Paulus Buys (1531–1594)	1572	16 March 1584
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547–1619)	16 March 1586	12 May 1619
Andries de Witt (1573–1637)	12 May 1619	1621
Anthonie Duyck (1560–1629)	1621	1629
Jacob Cats (1577–1660)	1629	1631
Adriaan Pauw (1585–1653)	1631	1636
Jacob Cats (1577–1660)	1636	1651
Adriaan Pauw (1585–1653)	1651	30 July 1653
Johan de Witt (1625–1672)	30 July 1653	4 August 1672
Gaspar Fagel (1634–1688)	20 August 1672	5 December 1688
Michiel ten Hove (1640–1689)	5 December 1688	24 March 1689
Anthonie Heinsius (1641–1720)	27 May 1689	3 August 1720
Isaac van Hoornbeek (1655–1727)	12 September 1720	17 June 1727
Simon van Slingelandt (1664–1736)	17 July 1727	1 December 1736
Anthonie van der Heim (1693–1746)	4 April 1737	7 July 1746
Willem Buys (1661–1749)	7 July 1746	23 September 1746
Jacob Gilles (1691–1765)	23 September 1746	18 June 1749
Pieter Steyn (1706–1772)	18 June 1749	5 November 1772
Pieter van Bleiswijk (1724–1790)	18 June 1772	5 November 1787
Laurens Pieter van de Spiegel (1736–1800)	9 November 1787	9 February 1795

Rulers during the French period (1795–1813)

In the Northern Netherlands, the stadtholdership developed into a hereditary system, with increasing power accumulating to the stadtholder. Dutch Patriots sought a more democratic form of government. With French help they proclaimed the Batavian Republic (1795-1806). In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte overturned the Batavian Republic. Napoleon established a client Kingdom of Holland with his brother as king (1806-1810). The Netherlands were subsequently annexed into the First French Empire (1810-1813). Stadtholder William V went in exile. The Southern Netherlands (Austrian Netherlands) including Prince-Bishopric of Liège were annexed into the French First Republic (1795–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815).

Batavian Republic (1795–1806)

Executive Governments of the Batavian Republic

Name	Term of office
Revolutionary Committee	17 January 1795	6 February 1795
States General of the Batavian Republic	30 March 1795	1 March 1796
National Assembly	1 March 1796	25 January 1798
Uitvoerend Bewind	25 January 1798	17 October 1801
Staatsbewind	17 October 1801	29 April 1805

Grand Pensionaries of the Batavian Republic:

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Faction
	Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (1761–1825)	15 May 1805	4 June 1806	Moderate
	Carel de Vos van Steenwijk (1759–1830)	4 June 1806	18 June 1806	Federalist

Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Louis I the Good Lodewijk I de Goede	(1778-09-02)2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846(1846-07-25) (aged 67)	5 June 1806 (office established)	1 July 1810	Napoleon Bonaparte restyled the Netherlands into the Kingdom of Holland, putting his brother Louis I on the throne	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 (office abolished	son of Louis I	Bonaparte

Rulers of the Netherlands (1813–present)

After the First French Empire collapsed, the crown was offered to sovereign prince William VI, son of stadtholder William V. The Congress of Vienna reunited the Northern Netherlands with the Southern Netherlands into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands of which William became king. The newly appointed kings originally had extensive powers. Constitutional reforms in 1848 transformed the Netherlands into a constitutional monarchy under the rule of law, ending the factual rule of the monarchs.

The Belgian Revolution led to the secession of the southern part into the Kingdom of Belgium.

The non-French speaking part of Luxembourg remained in a personal union with the Netherlands, until William III died, leaving only his daughter Wilhelmina as an heir. Luxembourg allowed inheritance of the crown by males only, hence breaking the personal union.

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family
William I Willem I	(1772-08-24)24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843(1843-12-12) (aged 71)	6 December 1813	7 October 1840	Son of the last Stadtholder William V 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	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	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 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 Abdicated	Orange-Nassau (Mecklenburg)
Beatrix	(1938-01-31) 31 January 1938	30 April 1980	30 April 2013	Daughter of Juliana Abdicated	Orange-Nassau (Lippe)
William-Alexander Willem-Alexander	(1967-04-27) 27 April 1967	30 April 2013	Incumbent	Son of Beatrix	Orange-Nassau (Amsberg)

References

Blom, J. C. H.; Lamberts, E. (June 2006). History of the Low Countries. ISBN 9781845452728.
Established Habsburg rule in Spain by marrying his son Philip the Handsome to the future Queen Joanna of Castile.
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht (1559–1584), Stadtholder of Friesland and Overijssel (1580–1584)
Maurits benoemd als stadhouder, 1585, Europeana
Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland (1585–1625), Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel (1590–1625), Groningen (1620–1625)
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel (1620–1625), Groningen and Drenthe (1640–1647)
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Overijssel (1672–1702), Guelders (1675–1702), Drenthe (1696–1702)
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)
Stadtholder of Guelders (under Philip II), architect of the Union of Utrecht
Stadtholder of Friesland (1584–1620), Groningen (1594–1620) and Drenthe (1596–1620)
Stadtholder of Friesland (1620–1632), Groningen and Drenthe (1625–1632)
Stadtholder of Friesland (1632–1640), Groningen and Drenthe (1632–1640)
Stadtholder of Friesland (1640–1664), Groningen and Drenthe (1650–1664)
In 1675 the State of Friesland voted to make the Stadtholdership hereditary in the house of Nassau-Dietz
Hereditary Stadtholder of Friesland (1707–1711) and Groningen (1708–1711)

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[1] Blom, J. C. H.; Lamberts, E. (June 2006). History of the Low Countries. ISBN 9781845452728.

[2] Established Habsburg rule in Spain by marrying his son Philip the Handsome to the future Queen Joanna of Castile.

[3] Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht (1559–1584), Stadtholder of Friesland and Overijssel (1580–1584)

[4] Maurits benoemd als stadhouder, 1585, Europeana

[5] Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland (1585–1625), Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel (1590–1625), Groningen (1620–1625)

[6] Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel (1620–1625), Groningen and Drenthe (1640–1647)

[7] Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel

[8] Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Overijssel (1672–1702), Guelders (1675–1702), Drenthe (1696–1702)

[9] 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)

[10] Stadtholder of Guelders (under Philip II), architect of the Union of Utrecht

[11] Stadtholder of Friesland (1584–1620), Groningen (1594–1620) and Drenthe (1596–1620)

[12] Stadtholder of Friesland (1620–1632), Groningen and Drenthe (1625–1632)

[13] Stadtholder of Friesland (1632–1640), Groningen and Drenthe (1632–1640)

[14] Stadtholder of Friesland (1640–1664), Groningen and Drenthe (1650–1664)

[15] In 1675 the State of Friesland voted to make the Stadtholdership hereditary in the house of Nassau-Dietz

[16] Hereditary Stadtholder of Friesland (1707–1711) and Groningen (1708–1711)