1774 – ✝ 1799
Willem George Frederik
William George Frederick of Orange-Nassau was the youngest son of the last stadholder William V and the brother of the first King of the Netherlands; William I Frederick. He was an inspiring army commander who, despite a nasty shoulder wound, fought courageously against the French.
Shoulder wound
William George Frederick - nickname Fritz - enjoyed a military education and started as lieutenant general of cavalry and grand master of artillery in 1792. He went to war against France (which was then threatening the Netherlands) and was usually at the forefront himself. In September 1793, he was shot in the shoulder during a battle at Wervik in Flanders. From that wound he never fully healed.
Great love
In 1795, the Orange-Nassau family fled from Napoleon to England. There, Frederick ran into his great love: Princess Mary, daughter of King George III. However, the latter thought her sisters should marry first. In the end, Mary married someone else.
Fatal night
During his final years, Frederick served in the Austrian army. Still not fully recovered from his shoulder wound, he visited sick soldiers in Italy. Frederick developed a severe fever and died during the night of January 5, 1799 in the arms of his adjutant at the age of twenty four. He was buried in Padua, Italy, but was interred in the royal crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft in 1896 at the request of Queen Emma. The tombstone by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova also came with him and now hangs behind the mausoleum of his eldest brother, William I.
Discover more about Notable Characters
William of Orange
William of Orange; the 'Father of the Fatherland'. That his name was associated with Delft and the Nieuwe Kerk is purely coincidental. After his sudden death in the Prinsenhof in Delft, the family tomb in Breda was inaccessible.
King William I
It was around the year 1800 in the Low Countries. The era of stadholders was over, and Napoleon Bonaparte was advancing from the south. Then William I Frederick became the first king of the Netherlands and secured the dynasty of the Oranges.
Willem George Frederik
William George Frederick of Orange-Nassau was the youngest son of the last stadholder William V and the brother of the first King of the Netherlands; William I Frederick. He was an inspiring army commander who, despite a nasty shoulder wound, fought courageously against the French.