William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Wilhelm Friedrich ( born August 7, 1613 Arnhem, † October 31, 1664 in Leeuwarden ) was Count, from 1654 Prince of Nassau- Dietz and governor of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe.
Life
Friedrich Wilhelm was the second son of Count Ernst Casimir of Nassau- Dietz (1573-1632) and Duchess Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick- Lüneburg ( 1592-1642 ). When his brother Henry Casimir I. In 1640, fallen, he managed to get the governorship of Friesland, in town and country ( Groningen and region ), however, and in Drenthe knew Prince Frederick Henry for yourself to purchase the same thing by Wilhelm Friedrich and his mother was taken very ill. Then The Prince, however, had such force that they were not alone forced to put a good face on a bad game, but also by the promise survivance for him and his sons had to win its favor indispensable. Otherwise Wilhelm Friedrich could not even get the right of the magistrate appointed to the Frisian cities, as it had possessed his brother.
As long as Frederick Henry lived, remained Wilhelm Friedrich, whose power in Friesland was rather limited in the background. After his death, however, he joined his son and successor, Wilhelm II closely and took 1650 open his party against the Dutch States. He took over the leadership of the well-known company from Amsterdam, whose failure but did not fall to his charge. But as soon as William II died suddenly, Wilhelm Friedrich turned to the now victorious province of Holland and the States General offered his service. He hoped representatives of the newly born prince William III. to be, if the same the Captain and Admiral -General should be given dignity, which he succeeded, however, just as little as the Field Marshal Brederode. Only the governorship of city and country, and Drenthe, he managed to save much to the chagrin of the Dutch regents for themselves. Otherwise he remained Feldzeugmeister.
In the continuing strife of the Orange party he played from now on a somewhat ambiguous role. He received the hand of the second daughter of Frederick Henry, Princess Albertine Agnes of Orange- Nassau, which increased his reputation and closely linked him again with the elder branch of the house of Nassau and tried as an uncle to occur among the guardians of the young prince. But at the same time he became increasingly the States of Holland pleasing and sought the friendship de Witt, by which he hoped to preserve at least the completed by Brederode's death Field Marshal dignity, but neither succeeded him as the in him by the Orange party Overijssel transferred the office of lieutenant - governor of the province to keep them. Only in the two northern provinces of his influence was decisive, he managed to fix it in the governorship so, albeit with quite geschmälerter authority that in 1659 his young son, Henry Casimir II the succession was assured, what happened in Drenthe. Five years later, in the first battles of the states with Christoph Bernhard von Galen, Bishop of Munster, him of the small staa matic army command a company that is certainly not very gereichte him for the glory was entrusted, which occupied the front of the Münster Dielerschanze, , except that it showed he was regarded as the chief general in staa matic service.
A long time he did not survive the occasional Kriegstat, because already in 1664 he was mortally wounded by the bursting of an examined by him gun. On October 31 of this year he passed away, leaving behind a somewhat ambiguous reputation. He was already ten years earlier as his cousins of Nassau- Hadamar and Nassau-Siegen line raised to the imperial princes, which of course his position in the Netherlands zugutekam less than he might have hoped.
Progeny
From its closed in Kleve on May 2, 1652 marriage to Albertine Agnes of Orange- Nassau:
- Henry Casimir II (1657-1696), Prince of Nassau- Dietz
- Amalia (1655-1695), married Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxe- Eisenach
- Wilhelmina Sophia Hedwig (1664-1667)