, painted c. 1620–1624
Early life Frederick Henry was born on 29 January 1584 in
Delft,
Holland,
Dutch Republic. He was the youngest child of
William the Silent and
Louise de Coligny. His father William was stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, and Friesland. His mother Louise was daughter of the Huguenot leader
Gaspard de Coligny, and was the fourth wife of his father. He was thus the half brother of his predecessor
Maurice of Orange, deceased in 1625. Frederick Henry was born six months before his father's
assassination on 10 July 1584. The boy was trained to arms by his elder brother
Maurice, one of the finest generals of his age. After Maurice threatened to legitimize his illegitimate children if he did not marry, Frederick Henry married his first cousin once removed,
Countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels in 1625. His illegitimate son by Margaretha Catharina Bruyns (1595–1625),
Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein was born in 1624 before his marriage and became the governor of the young
William III of England for seven years.
Stadtholder , 1632 On the death of Maurice in 1625 without legitimate issue, Frederick Henry succeeded him in his paternal dignities and estates, and also in the
stadtholderates of the five provinces of
Holland,
Zeeland,
Utrecht,
Overijssel and
Guelders, and in the important posts of captain and admiral-general of the Union (commander-in-chief of the
Dutch States Army and of the
Dutch navy). Frederick Henry proved himself as a general, capable statesman, and politician. For twenty-two years, he remained at the head of government in the United Provinces, and in his time the power of the stadtholderate reached its peak. The "Period of Frederick Henry," as it is usually styled by Dutch writers, is generally accounted for the
golden age of the republic. It was marked by military triumphs, worldwide maritime and commercial expansion, and by an outburst of activity in art and literature. The chief military exploits of Frederick Henry were the sieges and captures of
Grol in 1627,
's-Hertogenbosch in 1629, of
Maastricht in 1632, of
Breda in 1637, of
Sas van Gent in 1644, and of
Hulst in 1645. His chief opponent during the later 1640s was
Andries Bicker, leader of the "
Bickerse ligue", burgomaster of
Amsterdam and powerful member of the
States General, who was looking for peace with Spain, wanted to reduce the army and preferred Amsterdam's trading power. During the greater part of his administration the alliance with France against Spain had been the pivot of Frederick Henry's foreign policy, but in his last years he sacrificed the French alliance for the sake of concluding a separate peace with Spain, by which the United Provinces obtained from that power all the advantages they had been seeking for eighty years. at the
siege of 's-Hertogenbosch, 1629 Frederick Henry built the
country houses
Huis Honselaarsdijk,
Huis ter Nieuwburg, and for his wife
Huis ten Bosch, and he renovated the
Noordeinde Palace in
The Hague. Huis Honselaarsdijk and Huis ter Nieuwburg are now demolished.
Death Frederick Henry died on 14 March 1647 in
The Hague, Holland, Dutch Republic. He left his wife
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, his son
William II, Prince of Orange, four of his daughters, and his illegitimate son
Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein. On Frederick Henry's death, he was buried with great pomp beside his father and brother at Delft. The
treaty of Munster, ending the long struggle between the Dutch and the Spaniards, was not actually signed until 30 January 1648, the illness and death of the stadtholder having caused a delay in the negotiations. Frederick Henry left an account of his campaigns in his
Mémoires de Frédéric Henri (Amsterdam, 1743). See
Cambridge Mod. Hist. vol. iv. chap. 24. His widow commissioned an elaborate mausoleum in the
Oranjezaal, a panoramic painted ballroom with scenes from his life and allegories of good government based on his achievements. ==Children==