Monday 27 October 2008

ABC Wednesday, O for Orange





This is our Queen Beatrix.(Photo from Google.)




This is the crown prince cycling with his wife, Maxima, and their three daughters.
( photo from "Trouw"Newspaper)

The House of Orange-Nassau (in Dutch: Huis van Oranje-Nassau), a branch of the German House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange (also known as "William the Silent" and "Father of the Fatherland") organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War led to an independent Dutch state.(1568-1648)

Several members of the house served during this war and after as governor or stadtholder (Dutch stadhouder). However, in 1815, after a long period as a republic, the Netherlands became a monarchy under the House of Orange-Nassau.

The dynasty was established as a result of the marriage of Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda from Germany and Claudia of Châlon-Orange from French Burgundy in 1515. Their son René inherited in 1530 the Principality of Orange from his mother's brother, Philibert of Châlon. As the first Nassau to be Prince of Orange he could use "Orange-Nassau" as his new family name. However, in his will his uncle had stipulated that he should continue the use of the name Châlon-Orange. History knows him therefore as René of Châlon. After the death of René in 1544 his cousin William of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited all his lands. This, William I of Orange, (in English better known as William the Silent) became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau. Our Queen Beatrix is a direct descendant of William the Silent. She has three sons. The eldest son, our crown prince, is Willem-Alexander, married to Maxima. He will be our next king. I must apologize for two of the photos, for they are a newspaper and a Google photo.

Thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who has hosted this ABC game for the third round to the letter O for ABC Wednesday. For more ABC posts click on ABC picture in my side bar.Join us in this wonderful meme!

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures and interesting history from the House of Orange.

Thanks

Ray

Granny Smith said...

The House of Orange history was fascinating. The bowl of oranges looked delicious.

Leslie: said...

What a great choice for you to make this O-day! Happy October! :D

Anonymous said...

This is a very nice post, Wil.

Unknown said...

Those oranges look yummy : ). I also love the flower blooming at the side of your blog. So pretty! You capture things well! I love getting a History lesson each week! Have a wonderful week, my friend!

naturglede/Randi Lind said...

Thank you for charing the House og Orange. A great choice for the O.

Unknown said...

I really learned alot from this.Things I never knew before.thanks for the lesson.

Dina said...

Yo Wil, how can you remember all this complicated history?! Thanks for enlightening us--we who know nothing of kings and royalty (I speak here as an expat American).

Barbara said...

Interesting information from the House of Orange -thanks for this.

Anonymous said...

I do so like the down to earth nature of your Royal Family and I am a Republican at heart. Orange has a very different weight around here.

photowannabe said...

Very interesting information and I think quite original. I have learned about the House of Orange today.

Michele said...

A delightful post indeed! A very good read...
Thanks so much for your kind comments on my O post! =)
~Michele~
Mountain Retreat- Canada

Unknown said...

Oranges is full of vitamin C.
Nice post for letter 'O'.
Have a nice day.

Gigi Ann said...

Wil, Nice history lesson about the House of Orange. And as someone said before, they look tasty.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting history!

Rinkly Rimes said...

What a wonderfully educational tool blogging is! And your orange sporting uniforms are the most easily recognisable in the world!

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Beautiful photos as always. Visiting your site always brightens my day. And so, I've given you an award. You may pick it up at my site.

Jerez Sherry said...

I love your flowers in the sidebar!! BTW I have an award for your Kreative Blog.

Bear Naked said...

Thank you for your educational and informative post for ABC Wednesday letter O.

Bear((( )))

Tash said...

The Queen is a good looking woman. Nice post.

Janice Thomson said...

What a neat post for the "O" theme. Lovely post Wil.

Michele Wassell said...

Interesting post... Nice photos.. :)

antigoni said...

Beautiful post! Like fairytale!

spacedlaw said...

I gathered some spectacular "Orange" moments from my years living in Holland - some registered on film, some purely in my memory - so you could not have chosen something better for O.

Ivar Østtun said...

An interesting post Wil. Thanks for sharing :-)

mrsnesbitt said...

MMmmmmmmmmmmmmm! My mum chopped up oranges for me when I had a cold. Bless. My favourite fruit!

Anonymous said...

belle facons de representer le O avec l'orange

Dragonstar said...

I don't think you need to apologise for using public-domain photos - it would be a bit difficult to count on candid snaps of your royal family!
This is a great, informative post.

Rose said...

A very interesting take on the word "orange"! I enjoyed the history lesson--wasn't William of Orange, the English king, the one married to Mary? In the US, of course, there is a university named after the two of them.
William the Silent sounds like a great name for a king:)

Jeanette said...

Hi Wil . Nice bowl of oranges to start the history lesson and pics on the House of Orange.

Rune Eide said...

I must thank you for this bit of important European history unknown to me. I just wonder - how was the relationship between the wiilam og Orange and the of the same name who became King of England?

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Wil: I must say this is an interesting post. I love to learn things about you country.

DeeJay said...

Nice links

Liz Hinds said...

She has a happier face than our Queen! I couldn't work out until i read your post what Queen Beatrix had to do with O!

Rune Eide said...

Me again: Thank you the interesting extra info. Things fall into place.

kbguy said...

Very interesting sharing, accompanied by photos.

MumbaiiteAnu said...

Interresting post and great choice for 'O'

abb said...

What a neat and informative O post. Perfect for ABC!
Must tell you the flower photos in your side bar are just beautiful.

Suburbia said...

Very interesting for O!