Day of the Princes

The Hague 15.09.2009

The ORANGE

William I, Prince of Orange, Father of the Fatherland also known as William the Silent, or simply William of Orange.

He is the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau.

> The first recorded use of orange as a colour name in English was in 1512, in the court of King Henry VIII

> The dynasty of Orange-Nassau 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.

> William of Nassau-Dillenburg became Prince of Orange in 1544

> In 1815, after a long period as a republic, the Netherlands became a monarchy under the House of Orange-Nassau

There is no etymological connection between orange (the fruit and colour) and Orange (the name of the principality), and the similarity is fortuitous.

The Prince’s flag – under this flag The Watergeuzen (pro-independence privateers), acting on Williams I instructions, harassed the enemy everywhere during Eighty Years’ War. Orange White Blue is a colours of the Prince’s coat of arms. After 1630, the orange stripe was gradually replaced by a red one. Since there was likely no political reason for introducing a non-orange motive in the flag, the probable reason is that orange and blue are faint colors and more difficult to distinguish than red and dark blue, especially at sea. Another explanation is that the orange was originally made of natural/herbal yellow and red. The yellow colour faded out first, leaving a red strip.