Henry was born at on 9 August 1611 as the fourth son of Count
John VII 'the Middle' of Nassau-Siegen and his second wife, Duchess
Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. He was baptised on 29 September, also at Siegen Castle. With the 'Winter King' (
Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate,
King of Bohemia) Henry fled from Prague to
The Hague and studied with the King's eldest son
Frederick Henry since 14 September 1623. He was
governor of
Hulst since 1645. The
Dutch Republic repeatedly called on Henry for
diplomatic missions. In 1638, in
Paris he delivered the congratulations of the
States General of the Netherlands on the occasion of the birth of the
Dauphin of France (later King
Louis XIV), But from a letter it is known that King
Władysław IV of Poland, despite his distrust of everything that came from Prince Frederick Henry of Orange, was pleased to have Henry at his court as a Dutch envoy. In 1649 Henry undertook another journey to the Nordic countries, the purpose of which also remains unknown. The later
scientist and
inventor Christiaan Huygens, whose knowledge of the law in the
Deensche saecke (Danish affairs) would be of use to Henry, accompanied him as a
secretary. Huygens gave interesting accounts of Henry's experiences at the Danish royal court. The Danish-Norwegian Queen
Sophia Amalia took on the sponsorship of Henry's daughter
Sophia Amalia, born in 1650.
Succession dispute for the County of Nassau-Siegen The third
will and testament of Count John VII 'the Middle' of 1621 bequeathed John Maurice and his younger brothers from their father's second marriage the district of
Freudenberg, some villages in the Haingericht and a third part of the administration of the
city of
Siegen. For the eldest son from the first marriage,
John 'the Younger', only one third of the county was provided for in this will. On 6 August 1621, he was informed of this, with a precise statement of the reasons that had led his father to take this step. On 9 May 1623, i.e. not until two years later, John 'the Younger' protested against this with a letter from
Frankfurt to the
councillors of Siegen. In the meantime he had not been idle and had not hesitated to denounce his father to the
Emperor. At the time of his letter of protest he was certainly already aware of the
Poenale mandatum cassatorium, which Emperor
Ferdinand II officially issued some time later, on 27 June 1623, informing John 'the Middle' that at the time of making his third will as a fellow combatant of the
outlawed 'Winter King' he was not entitled to make a will. He had to revoke it and answer to an imperial court within two months. It seems that John 'the Younger' then shrank from having the imperial decree delivered to his seriously ill father. John 'the Middle' died at Siegen Castle on 27 September 1623. None of the three sons mentioned in the will were present at the death of their father. On 13 October
William and John Maurice arrived in Siegen, and on 26 October John 'the Younger'. Everyone knew that there would be a dispute at the reading of the will on 11 December 1623. John 'the Younger' had the imperial decree read out, and when his brothers demurred, he said as he stood up: "
Der Kaiser wird uns scheiden!" ("The Emperor will part us!"). He had taken the precaution of obtaining a further imperial decree on 20 November 1623 against Countess Dowager Margaret and her sons, in which the Emperor strictly forbade impeding John's assumption of government, his taking possession of the land and his inauguration. On 12 January 1624, John 'the Younger' was able to accept the homage from the town of Siegen but only because he beforehand had secretly let a
squadron of selected horsemen into the town through the castle gate (that is, not through a
city gate) in a heavy snowstorm, so that they could not be seen or heard by the town guards. John 'the Younger' thus received the entire inheritance, and the provisions of the will made in favour of William and John Maurice remained a dead letter. However, on 13/23 January 1624, John 'the Younger' voluntarily ceded the
sovereignty over the
Hilchenbach district with and some villages belonging to the and
Netphen districts, to William. With the exception of John Maurice and George Frederick, the younger brothers accepted only modest
appanages. Henceforth, until 1645, the county of
Nassau-Siegen had two governments, one in Siegen, the other in Hilchenbach. However, for a short period (1632–1635) this situation underwent a temporary change: during the
Thirty Years' War, his brothers, who were fighting on the Protestant side, rebelled against John 'the Younger'. Countess Dowager Margaret, through the mediation of Louis Henry, turned to Gustavus Adolphus and asked for help against the machinations of her stepson John 'the Younger'. On 14 February 1632 the Swedish king sent an order from Frankfurt to Louis Henry to provide military support for his first cousin John Maurice. Louis Henry then occupied the city of Siegen with his
regiment of Dutch and
Swedish soldiers. One day later, on 29 February, John Maurice and his brother Henry arrived in Siegen. Just as John 'the Younger' had kept his
cavalry in reserve eight years earlier, now John Maurice and Henry, supported by the presence of the Swedish regiment, negotiated with the
citizens, who felt bound by the
oath they had sworn to John 'the Younger'. On 4 March, after long and difficult negotiations, the citizens paid homage to John Maurice and Henry. John Maurice obtained for himself not only the Freudenberg district, which his father had intended for him in the will of 1621, but also
Netphen, which had been intended for John 'the Younger' in the same will. William was not only confirmed in the possession of Hilchenbach, but also received and
Krombach, as stipulated in his father's will. The city of Siegen paid homage to William and John Maurice only, who only in 1635 re-admitted their elder brother John 'the Younger' into co-sovereignty. However, the latter soon restored the old order: in 1636, he again became the sole owner of his father's property, with the exception of Hilchenbach, which he left to William, and he again governed the city of Siegen alone. John Maurice was again excluded from the county's sovereignty. John 'the Younger' died in
Ronse on 27 July 1638. On 22 January 1645, after his return from
Brazil, the latter, with his brothers George Frederick and Henry and an 80-man entourage, had forcibly occupied Siegen Castle and on 15 February had received the renewed homage from the citizens, albeit this time only for two thirds of the county. In order to end the constant dispute, John Maurice wanted to adhere strictly to his father's will of 1621 and leave his nephew John Francis Desideratus the one third that was due to him. Already before his departure to Brazil, on 25 October 1635, he had explicitly authorised his subjects to recognise the then still living John 'the Younger' as co-ruler. In 1645 John Maurice relinquished his rights to the Freudenberg district, granted by the will of 1621, in favour of his brother George Frederick.
Death, burial and reburial Henry died in Hulst on 27 October/7 November 1652. he was reburied in the in Siegen. ==Marriage and issue==