Johann Wilhelm Frizz of Orange

Johann Wilhelm Friso - the second son of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Ditz, and Princess Henrietta Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau (1666-1726). Cousin and heir of William III of Orange (1650-1702). As a member of the Nassau dynasty, Johann Wilhelm Friso, thanks to the will of William III, became the founder of the new line of the Orange House.

In 1696, after the death of his father, Heinrich Casimir, Johann Wilhelm Friso inherited the title of Prince Nassau-Dietz, as well as the position of the halter of Friesland and Groningen .

After the death of his cousin Wilhelm III of Orange, the stalter of Holland and the king of England, the male line of the descendants of William the Silent (1533-1584) died out. Johann Wilhelm Friso, the oldest male descendant of Johann VI, Earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, younger brother of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, and female grandson of Frederick Heinrich of Orange (1584–1647), William III’s grandfather, began to lay claim to all provinces where ruled by William III . But the Republican faction in Holland did not allow the strengthening of the power of Johann Wilhelm Friso.

Five provinces ruled by Wilhelm III of Orange - Holland , Zeeland , Utrecht , Gelderland and Overijssel - refused to recognize the authority of Johann Wilhelm Friso, who controlled only the provinces of Friesland and Groningen , where his ancestors held the hereditary position of state halter . Johann Wilhelm Friso became the founder of the third Oran house, which died out in the male line in 1890 . His son William IV, Prince of Orange (1711–1751), later became the staff halter of all seven Dutch provinces.

In 1707, Johann Wilhelm Friso, Prince of Orange, became a general in the Dutch army during the War of the Spanish Succession under the command of the Duke of Marlborough . He commanded the Dutch infantry at the Battle of Oudenaard , during the siege of Lille and at the Battle of Malplack .

In July 1711, while returning from the front to The Hague, Johann Wilhelm Friso drowned in the Hollands-Deep river, between Dordrecht and Murdeyk. His only son, William, was born six weeks after the death of his father.

On April 26, 1709, Johann Wilhelm Friso married Princess Maria Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688-1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgraf of Hesse-Kassel (1654-1730), and Princess Maria Amalia Courland (1653-1711). The spouses had two children:

• Anna Charlotte Amalia (October 23, 1710 - September 18, 1777), wife from 1727 of Friedrich , Crown Prince of Baden-Durlakh (1703-1732)
• Wilhelm IV, Prince of Orange (September 1, 1711 - October 22, 1751), General Staffor of the Republic of the United Provinces (1747-1751), married since 1734 to Princess Anna of Hanover (1709-1759).

• Pieter Lodewijk Muller: Johann Wilhelm Friso. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, S. 275 f.
• Uwe Schögl (Hg.): Oranien. 500 Jahre Bildnisse einer Dynastie aus der Porträtsammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Wien, und der niederländischen Königlichen Sammlung Den Haag. (Ausstellung vom 1. Februar bis 19. März 2002, Camineum der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Wien). Österreichische Nationalbibliothek ua, Wien 2002, ISBN 3-01-000028-6 , S. 92-95.

• Pieter Lodewijk Muller (1881), Johann Wilhelm Friso , Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German) 14, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 275-276.