Princess of Orange Facts for Kids

Máxima, Princess of Orange, is the wife of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange. She was the first Princess of Orange in over 153 years.

The Princess of Orange is a special title given to women. For a long time, from 1171 to 1815, it was used for the wives of the Ruling Princes of Orange. After 1815, it became the title for the wives of the people who would become the next King or Queen of the Netherlands.

There was one unique case: Marie, Princess of Orange (1393-1417). She became a Princess of Orange on her own, not just by marrying a Prince of Orange. She ruled the land with her husband, John, Prince of Orange.

For many years, the title "Prince of Orange" was only for the oldest son of the King. This meant that Dutch crown princesses (daughters who would become queen) did not get the title. Because there were no oldest sons for a few generations, the title wasn't used after 1877.

However, Dutch law changed in 1983. It now includes the oldest daughters of the King. So, when her father, Prince Willem-Alexander, became King of the Netherlands, Catharina-Amalia became the first Dutch Princess of Orange in her own right. This means she holds the title because she is the future Queen, not because she married a Prince.

Princesses of Orange Through History
Modern Princesses of Orange
- House of Orange-Nassau Princesses (Modern Era)
Images for kids
See also

Princesses of Orange Through History

This section lists the women who held the title of Princess of Orange. The title has been passed down through different families over many centuries.

House of Baux Princesses

The House of Baux was one of the first families to hold the title of Prince of Orange. Here are the princesses from this family.

Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became Princess	Stopped to be Princess	Death	Husband
Tibors de Sarenom	Guilhem	1130	after 5 June 1156	1171 husband became Prince	1181 husband's death	after 13 August 1198	Bertrand I
Ermengarde de Mévouillon	Mévouillon	1130	after 5 June 1156	1181 husband became Prince	21 March 1203 divorce	?	William I
Alix	Unknown	?	after 1203		1218, before 30 July husband's death	1219?	William I
Malberjone of Aix	Aix	?	17 June 1239		?	?	Raymond I
Eleonore of Geneva	Geneva	?	1273	1282 husband became Prince	1314 husband's death	?	Bertrand II
Anne de Viennois	Viennois-de la Tour-du-Pin	?	before 31 January 1318		1340 husband's death	after 27 November 1357	Raymond II
Constance of Trian	Trian	?	?	1340 husband's death	before 1358		Raymond III
Jeanne of Geneva	Geneva	?	12 April 1358		before 15 February 1389		Raymond III

House of Châlon-Arlay Princesses

After the House of Baux, the title passed to the House of Châlon-Arlay. Here are the princesses from this family.

Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became Princess	Stopped to be Princess	Death	Husband
Marie of Baux suo jure	Raymond III (Baux)	-	11 April 1386	10 February 1393	October 1417		John I
Joanna of Montfaucon	Henri of Montbéliard (Montfaucon)	-	April 1418	October 1417 husband became Prince	14 May 1445		Louis I
Eléonore of Armagnac	John IV, Count of Armagnac (Armagnac)	1423	26 September 1446		6/11 December 1456
Blanche of Gamaches	Guillaume, Lord of Gamaches (Gamaches)	-	-		3 December 1463 husband's death	23 May 1479
Catherine of Brittany	Richard, Count of Étampes (Montfort)	1428	19 August 1438	3 December 1463 husband became Prince	27 September 1475 husband's death	before 22 Abril 1476	William II
Joanna of Bourbon	Charles I, Duke of Bourbon (Bourbon)	1442	21 October 1467	27 September 1475 husband became Prince	1493		John II
Philiberta of Luxembourg	Antoine de Luxembourg, Count of Ligny (Luxemburg-Ligny)	-	January 1494		15 April 1502 husband's death	May 1539	John II

House of Nassau Princesses

The House of Nassau also held the title of Prince of Orange. Here is a princess from this family.

Picture	Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became Princess	Stopped to be Princess	Death	Husband
	Anna of Lorraine	Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (Lorraine)	25 July 1522	22 August 1540		15 July 1544 husband's death	15 May 1568	René

House of Orange-Nassau Princesses

The House of Orange-Nassau is the current royal family of the Netherlands. Many princesses have held this title within this family.

Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became Princess	Stopped to be Princess	Death	Husband
Anna van Egmont	Maximiliaan van Egmond (Egmond)	March 1533	6 July 1551		24 March 1558		William I
Anna of Saxony	Maurice, Elector of Saxony (Wettin)	23 December 1544	25 August 1561		22 March 1571 marriage ended	18 December 1577
Charlotte of Bourbon	Louis, Duke of Montpensier (Bourbon-Montpensier)	1546/7	24 June 1575		5 May 1582
Louise de Coligny	Gaspard II de Coligny (Coligny)	23 September 1555	24 April 1583		10 July 1584 husband's death	13 November 1620
Eleonora of Bourbon-Condé	Henri I, Prince of Condé (Bourbon-Condé)	30 April 1587	23 November 1606		20 February 1618 husband's death	20 January 1619	Philip William
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels	John Albert I, Count of Solms-Braunfels (Solms-Braunfels)	31 August 1602	4 April 1625	23 April 1625 husband became Prince	14 March 1647 husband's death	8 September 1675	Frederick Henry
Mary Henrietta of England	Charles I of England (Stuart)	4 November 1631	2 May 1641	14 March 1647 husband became Prince	6 November 1650 husband's death	4 December 1660	William II
Mary of England	James II of England (Stuart)	30 April 1662	4 November 1677		28 December 1694		William III

Modern Princesses of Orange

Since 1815, the title "Princess of Orange" has been used as a special title for the wives of the heirs to the Dutch throne.

House of Orange-Nassau Princesses (Modern Era)

Here are the princesses from the House of Orange-Nassau who held the title in more recent times.

Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became Princess	Stopped to be Princess	Death	Husband
Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel	Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (Hesse-Kassel)	7 February 1688	26 April 1709		14 July 1711 husband's death	9 April 1765	John William Friso
Anne of Great Britain and Hanover	George II of Great Britain (Hanover)	2 November 1709	25 March 1734		22 October 1751 husband's death	12 January 1759	William IV
Wilhelmina of Prussia	Prince Augustus William of Prussia (Hohenzollern)	7 August 1751	4 October 1767		9 April 1806 husband's death	9 June 1820	William V
Wilhelmine of Prussia	Frederick William II of Prussia (Hohenzollern)	18 November 1774	1 October 1791	9 April 1806 husband became Prince	16 March 1815 became queen	12 October 1837	William VI
Anna Pavlovna of Russia	Paul I of Russia (Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov)	18 January 1795	21 February 1816		7 October 1840 became queen	1 March 1865	William VII
Sophie of Württemberg	William I of Württemberg (Württemberg)	17 June 1818	18 June 1839	7 October 1840 husband became Prince	7 March 1849 became queen	3 June 1877	William VIII
Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti	Jorge Zorreguieta	17 May 1971	2 February 2002		At the moment	-	Willem-Alexander

Images for kids

Composite portrait of four generations of Princes of Orange – William I (1554–1584), Maurice (1618–1625), Frederick Henry (1625–1647), William II (1647–1650), and William III (1650–1702).
Map of the principality of Orange in the 16th century.
A detailed map of the principality in the first half of the 17th century. The area was about 12 miles long by 9 miles wide.
An alternate coat of arms sometimes used by Frederick Henry, William II, and William III as Prince of Orange. It shows the county of Moers instead of Veere.