Paternal Family Tree: Orange
On 6th July 1551 [his father] William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 18] and Anna Egmond Princess Orange were married. She by marriage Princess Orange.
On 25th August 1561 [his father] William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 28] and Anna of Saxony [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Princess Orange. They had two sons, one of which died in infancy, and three daughters.
On 24th June 1575 [his father] William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 42] and Charlotte Bourbon Princess Orange [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Princess Orange.
On 24th April 1583 [his father] William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 50] and [his mother] Louise Coligny Princess Orange were married. She by marriage Princess Orange.
On 29th January 1584 Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange was born to William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 50] and Louise Coligny Princess Orange.
On 10th July 1584 [his father] William "The Silent" Orange Nassau I Prince Orange [aged 51] died. His son [his half-brother] Philip [aged 29] succeeded William I Prince Orange.
Before 16th July 1594 [his brother-in-law] Frederick IV Elector Palatine [aged 20] and [his half-sister] Electress Louise Juliana of the Palatine Rhine [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Electress Palatine Rhine. He the son of Louis VI Elector Palatine.
After 1597 [his brother-in-law] Claude de La Tremoille 2nd Duke Thouars [aged 31] and [his half-sister] Charlotte Flandrina Orange Nassau [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Duchess Thouars. He the son of Louis III de La Tremoille 1st Duke Thouars and Jeanne Montmorency.
In 1623 Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt [aged 56]. Portrait of Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 38].
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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In 1625 Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 40] and Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Princess Orange.
On 23rd April 1625 [his half-brother] Prince Maurice I of Orange [aged 57] died. His half brother Frederick [aged 41] succeeded II Prince Orange.
On 27th May 1626 [his son] William Orange Nassau II Prince Orange was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 42] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 23]. He married 2nd May 1641 Mary Stewart Princess Orange, daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Henrietta Maria Bourbon Queen Consort England, and had issue.
In 1627 Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 42] was appointed 425th Knight of the Garter by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 26].
On 7th December 1627 [his daughter] Luise Henriette Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 43] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 25]. She married 7th December 1646 her half first cousin once removed Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg, son of George William Hohenzollern and Elisabeth Charlotte Palatinate Simmern, and had issue.
On 26th October 1628 [his daughter] Henriëtte Amalia Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 44] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 26]. She died aged less than one years old.
In December 1628 [his daughter] Henriëtte Amalia Orange Nassau died.
On 4th August 1630 [his daughter] Elisabeth Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 46] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 27].
On 28th April 1632 [his daughter] Isabella Charlotte Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 48] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 29]. She died aged ten in 1642.
Around 1634 Anthony Van Dyck [aged 34]. Portrait of Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 49].
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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On 9th April 1634 [his daughter] Albertine Agnes Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 50] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 31].
On 10th February 1637 [his daughter] Henriette Catherine Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 53] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 34].
On 30th November 1639 [his son] Hendrik Lodewijk Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 55] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 37]. He died aged less than one years old.
On 19th December 1639 [his son] Hendrik Lodewijk Orange Nassau died.
On 16th April 1640 [his half-sister] Charlotte Flandrina Orange Nassau [aged 60] died.
On 2nd May 1641 [his son] William Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 14] and [his daughter-in-law] Mary Stewart Princess Orange [aged 9] were married. She the daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 40] and Henrietta Maria Bourbon Queen Consort England [aged 31].
On 17th May 1642 [his daughter] Isabella Charlotte Orange Nassau [aged 10] died.
On 5th September 1642 [his daughter] Maria Orange Nassau was born to Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 58] and [his wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 40]. She married 23rd September 1666 her first cousin once removed Louis Henry Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern.
On 15th March 1644 [his half-sister] Electress Louise Juliana of the Palatine Rhine [aged 67] died.
On 7th December 1646 [his son-in-law] Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [aged 26] and [his daughter] Luise Henriette Orange Nassau [aged 19] were married at The Hague. They were half first cousin once removed.
On 14th March 1647 Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange [aged 63] died. His son William [aged 20] succeeded II Prince Orange. Mary Stewart Princess Orange [aged 15] by marriage Princess Orange.
On 8th September 1675 [his former wife] Amalia Solms Braunfels Princess Orange [aged 73] died.
Westminster Chronicle of King Richard II, 1381-1394
The Westminster Chronicle is one of the most vivid and important narrative sources for the reign of Richard II. Written by an anonymous chronicler closely connected with Westminster Abbey, it covers the years 1381 to 1394, from the Peasants’ Revolt to the political tensions, court ceremonies, diplomatic negotiations, royal progresses, and public crises of Richard’s later reign. Rich in detail the chronicle records major events such as the conflicts between the King and Lords Appellant, King and the City of London, negotiations with France and Scotland, the death and funeral of Queen Anne of Bohemia, the illness of Charles VI of France, and the changing fortunes of leading nobles including John of Gaunt, Thomas of Gloucester, Robert de Vere, and the Earl of Arundel. The Chronicle offers readers a remarkable window into late fourteenth-century England, combining political observation, courtly spectacle, urban drama, ecclesiastical affairs, and moral judgement. It is an essential source for anyone interested in medieval monarchy, London, Westminster, and the troubled reign of Richard II.
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John Evelyn's Diary. 10th September 1677. His lady [aged 43] (being one of the Brederode's daughters, grandchild to a natural son of Henry Frederick, Prince of Orange) [Note. Evelyn confused here. Elisabeth Nassau Beverweert Countess Arlington was the daughter of Louis Nassau Beverweert who was the illegitimate son of [his half-brother] Prince Maurice I of Orange. Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange was the younger brother of Prince Maurice I of Orange.] is a good-natured and obliging woman. They love fine things, and to live easily, pompously, and hospitably; but, with so vast expense, as plunges my Lord [aged 59] into debts exceedingly. My Lord himself is given into no expensive vice but building, and to have all things rich, polite, and princely. He never plays, but reads much, having the Latin, French, and Spanish tongues in perfection. He has traveled much, and is the best bred and courtly person his Majesty [aged 47] has about him, so as the public Ministers more frequent him than any of the rest of the nobility. While he was Secretary of State and Prime Minister, he had gotten vastly, but spent it as hastily, even before he had established a fund to maintain his greatness; and now beginning to decline in favour (the Duke being no great friend of his), he knows not how to retrench. He was son of a Doctor of Laws, whom I have seen, and, being sent from Westminster School [Map] to Oxford, with intention to be a divine, and parson of Arlington, a village near Brentford, when Master of Arts the Rebellion falling out, he followed the King's Army, and receiving an HONORABLE WOUND IN THE FACE, grew into favor, and was advanced from a mean fortune, at his Majesty's Restoration, to be an Earl and Knight of the Garter, Lord Chamberlain of the Household, and first favorite for a long time, during which the King married his natural son, the Duke of Grafton [aged 13], to his only daughter [aged 9] and heiress, as before mentioned, worthy for her beauty and virtue of the greatest prince in Christendom. My Lord is, besides this, a prudent and understanding person in business, and speaks well; unfortunate yet in those he has advanced, most of them proving ungrateful. The many obligations and civilities I have received from this noble gentleman, extracts from me this character, and I am sorry he is in no better circumstances.
Grandfather: William "The Rich" I Count of Nassau Dillenburg
Frederick Henry Orange Nassau II Prince Orange
mother: Louise Coligny Princess Orange