William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen

William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen
William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen
Born	(1667-04-03)3 April 1667 Brussels
Died	18 February 1743(1743-02-18) (aged 76) Hadamar
Noble family	House of Nassau
Spouse(s)	Maria Francisca of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
Father	John Francis Desideratus of Nassau-Siegen
Mother	Eleonore Sophie of Baden

Prince William Hyacinth of Nassau-Siegen (3 April 1667 in Brussels – 18 February 1743 in Hadamar) was a Prince of Nassau-Siegen. He also claimed the Principality of Orange.

Life

coffin of William Hyacinth in the royal crypt at Hadamar

William Hyacinth was the son of Prince John Francis Desideratus of Nassau-Siegen and Eleonore Sophie of Baden, his second wife. In 1695, he took up his residence in Siegen. In the same year, the city fell victim to a great fire, which burned 350 buildings, two churches and the Nassau Court, the headquarters of the ruling family. His father began building a new castle in Siegen as the new family home in 1696.

From 17 December 1699 to 2 March 1707, William Hyacinth was the ruler of Nassau-Siegen. He was hoping to inherit much more than his father's principality of Nassau-Siegen, since he was one of the nearest male relatives of the childless King William III of England, and thus a portential heir to William's extensive lands in Germany and the Dutch Republic. However, William III left his possessions by will to John William Friso of Nassau-Dietz. William Hyacinth later used the title of Prince of Orange in Brabant.

He did not even inherit all of his father's wealth. His father had remarried with Isabella Clara du Puget de la Serre and had had seven surviving children with her. In his will, he left her a bequest of 1100 taler per year. Her two sons each received 500 taler per year and her five daughters 200 taler each. William Hyacinth challenged this will before the Imperial Supreme Court, however, he lost his case in 1702.

In the same year William III died in England. William Hyacinth traveled to Paris to secure the support of France with regard to his rights of inheritance. Other claimants were King Frederick I of Prussia and John William Friso of Nassau-Dietz, who was designated as the sole heir in William III's testament.

King Louis XIV, however, showed little interest in supporting a Protestant prince without military power base. William Hyacinth then travelled to the principality of Orange and announced there that he had seized the principality. Louis XIV declared that the Prince Henri Jules of Condé was the rightful heir to the principality of Orange and occupied it militarily. Henri Jules transferred the principality to France. In the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, the lands of the principality were definitively awarded to France.

His lavish court, with which he wanted to underscore his claim to the inheritance of Orange, his journeys and gifts cost far more than his income from the Duchy of Nassau-Siegen could bear. William Hyacinth was consequently indebted to the bankers De Rhön and Schonemann from Frankfurt, pledging of the villages Wilnsdorf and Wilgersdorf for 20000talers. He increased taxes across the country to intolerable levels. Another source of income were excessive fines, which further damaged his reputation in his country.

His quick temper and ambition were feared in their own family. When his brother (and successor) Frederick William Adolf expressed his displeasure, William Hyacinth directed the guns of his castle on his brother's castle in order to demonstrate his power. Frederick William Adolf then sued his brother in the assembly of the Westphalian Circle. When William Hyacinth visited the court in Vienna in 1705, to raise support for his inheritance claim, Siegen was occupied by troops from Nassau and Prussia. The people revolted and plundered and disarmed William Hyacinth's castle.

The number of complaints about his conduct continued to increase. On 15 July 1706, Siegen was again occupied, this time by troops from County Palatine of Neuburg and Prussia, at the request of the Aulic Council. William Hyacinth's Chancellor, de Colomba, who had played a major rôle in William Hyacinth's tyranny, was arrested and on 20 December 1710 exiled from the German Empire for life. William Hyacinth himself fled to Hadamar, to his cousin Prince Francis Alexander.

Heart Epitaph of William Hyacinth in the Herzberg Chapel in Hadamar

The revolts against his reign of terror continued. On 29 March 1707 William Hyacinth had Friedrich Flender von der Hardt, a suspected leader of the insurgents, beheaded without any form of trial. Emperor Joseph I used this occasion to deprive William Hyacinth of his principality. It was temporarily administered by two imperial councillors and then passed to Frederick William Adolf. In 1713, France withdrew William Hyacinth's French title of Count of Chalon.

William Hyacinth was awarded an annual pension of 4000 talers. The remaining assets were used to pay the pensions of his stepmother and her siblings, his creditors and a debt of honor to the family of Friedrich Flender. William Hyacinth complained to the emperor and to the Diet of Regensburg, however, neither complaint met with success.

Marriages and issue

William Hyacinth was married three times. His first wife was Maria Francisca of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, whom he married on 9 April 1687 in Liège. She died on 7 June 1691. With her he had three children:

• Joseph Hyacinth (1688-1688)
• Francis Joseph (1689–1703)
• A daughter (1691–1692)

His second wife was Maria Anna of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, whom he married on 22 May 1698 in Frankfurt. With her he had one daughter:

• Anna Maria Josepha (1704–1723)

Only his third wife survived him. She was Countess Sophia of Starhemberg, whom he married on 28 July 1740 in Vienna. She died on 12 December 1773. This marriage was childless.

Ancestors

Family of William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen

16. John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg 8. John VII, Count of Nassau 17. Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg 4. John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen 18. Philip IV, Count of Waldeck 9. Countess Magdalena of Waldeck 19. Jutta of Isenburg-Neumagen 2. John Francis Desideratus of Nassau-Siegen 20. Philippe, Count of Ligne 10. Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne 21. Margarethe de Lalaing 5. Ernestine Yolande de Ligne d'Amblise 22. Hugues II de Melun 11. Anne-Marie de Melun 23. Yolanda de Barbancon-Werchin 1. William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen 24. Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern 12. Edward Fortunatus 25. Cecilia Vasa 6. Herman Fortunatus, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern 26. Joost van Eicken 13. Maria van Eicken 27. Barbara van Moll 3. Maria Eleonora Sophia of Baden-Rodemachern 28. Sebastian of Daun-Falkenstein 14. Philip Francis of Daun-Falkenstein 29. Elisabeth of Salm-Dhaun 7. Maria Sidonia of Daun-Falkenstein 30. Werner, Altgrave of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck 15. Elisabeth of Salm-Reifferscheidt 31. Anna Maria of Limburg-Styrum

References

• Christian Brachthäuser: Le Prince Regent d'Orange - Wilhelm Hyazinth Fürst zu Oranien und Nassau-Siegen (1667-1743), 2010, ISBN 978-3-935910-75-0
• E. F. Keller: Wilhelm Hyacinth von Nassau-Siegen, in: Annalen des Vereins für Nassauische Altertumskunde und Geschichtsforschung, vol 9, p. 49 ff, Online

External links

• William Hyacinth in the Orange image catalogue