Dutch Nobility


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Royalist0007

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Does the Netherlands have a hereditary nobility?

Does anyone know if the Netherlands have a hereditary nobility? I know that Belgium does.

Aidan.
 
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Thanks,Henri M. Has Queen Beatrix ever conferred any noble titles on her subjects,or has this been stopped by an Act of the States General?

Aidan.
 
The last time when a noble title was awarded was in 1939. After that it became uncommon to reward people that way. And in 1983 it officially became impossible.
Untill the late 90-ties foreign nobility could be incorporated by the Dutch nobility counsil, but that can no longer be done either. The last ones who used this procedure were the children of Princess Irene: Prince Carlos, Jaime and Princesses Margarita and Maria-Carolina of Bourbon-Parma.
Now only members of the RF can be ennobled, like Princess Maxima who became Princess of The Netherlands by Royal Decree.
 
Recognition, incorporation, elevation

Nobility is granted by Royal Decree and is one of the royal prerogatives. There are three ways to become a Dutch noble:

1. by recognition of nobility (reconnaissance)
2. by incorporation of foreign nobility into the Netherlands nobility (incorporation)
3. by elevation into the nobility (concession)

----

1. by recognition of nobility (reconnaissance)
This means: the King confirms and recognizes the nobility which predates 1795 and was vested in the Netherlands

For an example:

VAN LAWICK VAN PABST (Marius Herbertus),
Born Semarang (Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)), 2 September 1925
Recognized into the Netherlands Nobility
To him and to all his legal descendants (in the male lineage) is granted the right to use the title Baron (Baroness)
Royal Decree of 9 June 2004, Stb. 307

VERSÉLEWEL DE WITT HAMER (Johan Jacques),
Born Long Iram (Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)), 28 May 1918
Recognized into the Netherlands Nobility
To him and to all his legal descendants (in the male lineage) is granted the right to use the predicate Jonkheer (Jonkvrouw)
Royal Decree of 9 June 2004, Stb. 307

----

2. by incorporation of foreign nobility into the Netherlands nobility (incorporation)
This means: a foreign noble becomes naturalized and requests his nobility to be recognized and be enlisted into the Netherlands Nobility

For an example:

KENNESEY DE KENESE (Miklós Kálmán),
born Balassagyarmat (Hungary), 21 February 1933
Incorporated into the Netherlands Nobility
To him and to all his legal descendants (in the male lineage) is granted the right to use the predicate Jonkheer (Jonkvrouw)
Royal Decree of 9 June 2004, Stb. 307

PRISSE (Eduardus Petrus Alphert),
born Uccle (Belgium), 23 December 1938
Incorporated into the Netherlands Nobility
To him and to his firstborn is granted the right to use the title Baron (Baroness).
His other legal descendants (in the male lineage) are granted the right to use the predicate Jonkheer (Jonkvrouw)
Royal Decree of 9 June 2004, Stb. 307

----

3. by elevation into the nobility (concession)
This means the granting of new nobility. Since 1998 this is only possible for members of the Royal House (or -within three months- for those who have lost of the membership of the Royal House)

For an example:

VAN ORANJE-NASSAU VAN AMSBERG (Johan Friso Christiaan Bernhard David),
Born Utrecht (the Netherlands), 25 September 1968
Elevated into the Netherlands Nobility
To him and to all his legal descendants (in the male lineage) is granted the right to use the title Count (Countess)
 
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Does anyone know if there is Dutch nobility in the Netherlands? Who are they? Are they close to the royal family?
 
They even have Gaius Julius Civilis in this list! The leader of the Batavians that revolted against Rome.

Here a list in dutch with all the noble families that are around today,. Note that there are several foreign royals/nobles in the Dutch nobility too, like the Stolberg-Stolbergs, Wolff-Metternichs and the Earl of Clancarty.
 
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Audrey Hepburn's mother was a Dutch aristocrat. Ella was from the van Heemstra family and was a baroness.
 
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How to address titled Dutch men of 1800

I am a writer with a Dutch character in my book who has been awarded a title of Count. I need to know how to address him. My book is fiction but the social mores of the time (1800-1819) need to be correct.
For instance:
1. In England, if John Smith is awarded a title he may become Viscount Brimley. This is how he would be announced and introduced. Thereafter, he would be called lord Brimley, my lord, or a good friend would simply call him Brimley.
2. In Holland if a Dutch gentleman named John Smith is awarded a title by his country, would the rules in #1 apply? If not, how would he be announced or introduced. How would he be spoken of - lord Smith, Count Smith or lord and Count Someothername?
In order to write dialogue I need to know how the English would address him, while he is in England. His father, also a Count, is visiting London and two chapters are of dialogue with him and English aristocrats.
I hope someone can help me. Thanks beadermeyer@aol.com
 
Van Heemstra son disinherited? Opened New York pub?

I'm so sorry if this is not in the correct category...
I just recently(yesterday) was told by a family member that my Great(don't know how many "greats")Grandfather was disinherited from the house that is now Huis Doorn, and went to New York and opened a pub. He supposedly was later involved in the New York City Draft Riots(1868).
The only family I have been able to associate with Huis Doorn(before the Kaiser lived there) were the Van Heemstra family. So, I'm just guessing that's the family he would have been from.

Does anyone know if there was ever a person disinherited by the Van Heemstra family in the 1800's?
Thanks for any help or insight!

Sarah
 
Huis Doorn changed hands quite a few times. In the 19th century the ownership went as follows:

- Wendela ten Hove d. 1814
- Jhr. Mr. Andries Munter, Lord of Sleeburg, Doorn and Den Bosch (son of Wendela) d. 1861;
- Johanna Maria Warin (wife of Jhr. Andries) d. 1874;
- Count Samuel Johan van Limburg Stirum (son-in-law of Andries and Johanna); he auctioned the house in 1874 to:
- Mrs Cornelia Henrietta Labouchere, born Jkvr. van Lennep; d. 1902, house sold to:
- Baroness Wilhelmina van Heemstra, born Jkvr. de Beaufort & great-grand mother of Audrey Hepburn. She sold the house in 1919 to Emperor Wilhelm II.

Jhr. Andries and his wife Johanna only had one daughter, Jkvr. Susanna Munter, who married count Samuel of Limburg Stirum. No son is recorded. Jhr. Andries did have three halfbrothers belonging to the Amsterdam patriciate family of Godin. All three seem to have died unmarried. The sisters of Jhr. Andries married a baron van Reede (with 1 daughter) and a baron Boreel. They only had one son who married a Boreel cousin and lived in The Netherlands.

Jkvr. Suzanna and count Samuel did not have any children. All Limburg-Stirum nephews of the count seem to have married and died in The Netherlands and Belgium.

Mrs. Labouchere - Jkvr. van Lennep had one son, who married a van Eeghen. Both families belong to the patriciate of Amsterdam while the van Lenneps were also Amsterdam patriciate, ennobled in the 19th century.

Baroness Wilhelmina van Heemstra had two sons only:
- Baron Hendrik, mayor of Harmelen and De Bilt, married to Anna Maria Nepveu (patriciate, her mother was a lady-in-waiting to Pss Amalia), 2 daughters.
- Baron Aarnoud, married to a Bss Elbrig van Asbeck, governor of Surinam, father of many children, among them Bss Jacqueline van Heemstra, lady-in-waiting of Queen Juliana; grandfather of Audrey Hepburn.
 
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Thank you for your research! wow, where did you find this information?
Here is an exert from my Grandfather's biography:

Papa Jim wrote a description of his ancestral castle, HUIS DOORN, on March 10, l974.

" The village of DOORN in the Netherlands is located about l0 miles (15 km.) ESE of Utrecht. Huis Doorn is located there. As far back as I can recall, Mother told me that her mother’s father, Count Albert von Doornum, born in Emden Germany owned a castle in Holland near Doorn. Kaiser, Wilhelm II, Germany’s Emperor from 1888 to 1918 had lived in our family castle for many years after he had been exiled from Germany at the end of WW 1. Mother said that her grandmother had lived in the castle from the time she was a little girl, often travelling to Amsterdam. We surmise that my great grandfather, Count Albert von Doornum married into the family who owned the castle and it then acquired the name Doorn after which the village is also now named.
In l974, Gwen and I visited Doorn. Peter Bakker, the seventeen-year-old son of a fine Christian Dutch family, escorted us to visit the now very famous Huis Doorn. It is currently a museum, owned by the government of the Netherlands. It was famous because Kaiser Wilhelm II had lived there for some 21 years.
22.





The mansion, known as "Huis Doorn" was originally a fortified castle built during the Fourteenth century by the Bishop of Utrecht to safeguard the possessions of the Catholic Church. Reynier von Golstein became the owner of the castle after the Reformation. The medieval character of the castle remained more or less unchanged until the end of the Eighteenth Century. In 1780, after a rebuilding ordered by the owner Frederic Richard Lijnslager, the mansion acquired its present appearance. A tower of the old castle remained visible at the SW corner. Parts of the old original walls were included in the new building. Several distinguished Dutch families were to inhabit this castle after the death of Lijnslager, one of which we believe was my great-grandfather, Count Albert von Doornum."


I'm taking all of this with a grain of salt, but am still very curious if it could be accurate and true...
 
Apart from the fact that apparently the records have no information about a Van Heemstra son, the concept of 'disinheriting' is almost impossible in the Netherlands. According to the law every child has the right on an equal portion of the inheritance.

Parents can only disinherit a child with his/her permission. When a parent makes a Last Will and a child is inherited, the child can fight this disinheritance and easily win to claim his/her legal portion. It is most unlikely that a Van Heemstra son would have been disinherited.

Even children out of wedlock can claim a legal portion. The late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (father of Princess Beatrix) had two daughters out of wedlock: the American Ms Alicia Hala de Bielefeld (1952) and the French Mme Alexia Bénédicte Irina Manuella Olivia Grinda (1967). Both shared equally in their father's inheritance, with their four royal half-sisters (Beatrix, Irene, Margriet and Christina). Not only gentlemanlike from the Prince but most likely also because he had no other option.
 
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Like you said, the house was built by the church, In 1635 it was sold to:

- Reynier van Golsteyn, inherited in ? by his son;
- Jhr. Philip van Golsteyn, sold in 1649
- Count Caius Barthram van Broeckdorff, given to his son in 1659:
- Count Caius Laurentius van Broeckdorff, sold in 1701:
- Frederik Willem van Diest,after his death the house was inherited in ? by his daughter:
- Anna Juliana van Diest & her husband Arent Carel baron von Hamersteyn, after their death the house was inherited in 1762 by:
- Herman Frederik Richard Lijnslager, sold in 1792 to:
- Wendela Eleonora ten Hove d. 1814
- Jhr. Mr. Andries Munter, Lord of Sleeburg, Doorn and Den Bosch (son of Wendela) d. 1861;
- Johanna Maria Warin (wife of Jhr. Andries) d. 1874;
- Count Samuel Johan van Limburg Stirum (son-in-law of Andries and Johanna); he auctioned the house in 1874 to:
- Mrs Cornelia Henrietta Labouchere, born Jkvr. van Lennep; d. 1902, house sold to:
- Baroness Wilhelmina van Heemstra, born Jkvr. de Beaufort & great-grand mother of Audrey Hepburn. She sold the house in 1919/20 to Emperor Wilhelm II.

None of the families that lived in the house after or before Lijnbergen are called 'von Doornum'. But all owners did carry the title 'Heer van Doorn' or 'Vrouwe van Doorn' (Lord - or Lady of Doorn). Von/van Doornum is a regular name, not belonging to the Dutch nobility & certainly not a count (we only have very few of them) or patriciate AFAIK.

------

In the story as your father heard it, count Albert van Doorum was supposed to have married a daughter of an owner that came áfter Mr. Lijnslager. Assuming that the genealogical data are correct, the owners had the following daughters, none of them married a van/von Doornum:

Wendela ten Hove: 2 daughters ->
(1) Margaretha Munter, m. Jhr. Mr. Jacob Boreel van Hogelanden
(2) Cornelia Munter, m. Baron Frederik Willem van Reede


Jhr Andries Munter: 1 daughter ->
(1) Susanna, m. Count Samuel of Limburg-Stirum ; no children


Cornelia Henrietta Labouchere, born Jkvr. van Lennep: 2 daughters ->
(1) Anna Catharina Labouchere, m. Jhr. Theodore Louis Lambert Prins van Westdorpe
(2) Henriette Labouchere, m. Jhr. Hendrik Daniel Wijnand Hooft
Cornelia Henrietta van Lennep b. 14 Sep 1821 Amsterdam, NH, NL d. 10 Dec 1902 Huis te Doorn: Geneagraphie - Families all over the world

Bss Wilhelmina van Heemstra: 2 sons, no daughters.


The village is not named after a count von/van Doornum. The original name of Doorn was 'Thorhem' , which means home of Thor (Germanic god of thunder). The Vikings named the place such, as they worshipped Thor there. Over the years the name slowly transformed from Thorhem in Doorn.

The information about the owners you can find here in Dutch:
Huis doorn

------

In short: it makes a nice story but there seems to be little truth in it. I am not sure, but another possibility is that the great grandmother who lived there was a member of the staff.
 
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Marengo,

Thank you for taking the time to look up all this information and reply to me. I really appreciate it.
I always thought "Count Albert von Doornum" was German, as the use of "von" and not "van" indicates. So, I was confused when my uncle told me about the house in The Netherlands.
So, as I only just started doing my own research a few days ago, I will keep asking family members for what they know and see if anything adds up!

Thanks again!!
 
Jhr. Jan de Lange commited suicide by jumping in front of a train in Heemstede. The jonkheer murdered his wife Reineke in 2010 & tried to commit suiceide, but the police got there before he was able to do that. He was suffering from a psychotic depression at the time. He was released in 2013 already (!), which caused criticism. His doctors said that the electro-shock therapy he received cured him.


Parkeermiljonair springt voor trein | Binnenland | Telegraaf.nl

The de Lange (or de Lange van Bergen) family was ennobled by king Frederik V of Denmark in 1752, they were incorporated in the Dutch nobility in 1996.
 
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For Dutch posters, a few episodes of Michiel van Erp's programme Hollands Welvaren.

An episode with Count Cecil John of Limburg-Stirum and his vibrant, lovely wife Countess Machteld, née Hooykaas (an archeologist) who is a rather good storyteller: 'en daar lag de tuinman dood... bij de vruchtenkelder'.

Hollands welvaren gemist? Kijk het op npo.nl - NPO

They show their Rotterdam residence Schoonoord, which the countess inherited from her stephfather, Jacob Mees (of the banking family). Apparently she chased a burglar out of the house twice. She reveals that her grandfather was an extramarital child of king Willem III, though they bleeped the name of the king on the countess request afterwards. The count and countess were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, a member of the Van Vollenhoven family.

---

And an episode about the lively Ambachtsvrouwe of Kloetinge, Mrs. Jeanne van Dijk van 't Velde, née Jkvr. Radermacher Schorer. Her late husband was the intendant of the Dutch palaces during the reign of Queen Juliana:
Hollands welvaren gemist? Kijk het op npo.nl - NPO

She mentions in the episode 'sweet Juliana' and recollects how the queen usually wore fake jewels that often went missing.
 
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Cornelis de Graeff (1671-1719) was a Canon of St. Pieter at Utrecht.
At Ilpenstein Castle he had an art collection.
One of the paintings Cornelis owned was Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph by Rembrandt.
​
 
Wednesday 15 August 2018 saw the death of Hugo graaf van Zuylen van Nijevelt. His eldest son Philippe will become the new count. Because of this Philippe's spouse - the Grootmeesteres- will be a countess: Maria Louise Alexandra gravin van Zuylen van Nijevelt née jonkvrouw den Beer Poortugael.

Under Napoléon Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt was created Comte de l'Empire. Back then he was the highest functionary serving under Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais (King and Queen of Holland 1806-1810).

By Royal Decree of October 17th 1822 King Willem I of the Netherlands recognized the family Van Zuylen van Nijevelt in the Nobility of the Netherlands with the title baron (barones) for all and the title of graaf from eldest son to eldest son.

Picture: Joséphine ("Pien") van Karnebeek - Thijssen (Hofdame) and Maria Louisa ("Bibi") gravin van Zuylen van Nijevelt - den Beer Poortugael (Grootmeesteres) leave the Royal Palace Amsterdam
 
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Question re: Dutch nobility in modern era

Hi there, I'm new here and I had a quick question that Google has not been able to solve for me though I've been trying to find the answer for weeks. So I wondered if someone here might be able to answer.

I've been studying how Dutch titles and nobility works, i.e. how titles are passed on and it's my understanding that the children of a Count are all titled Baron/Baroness of that family and that their children are also titled baron/baroness, etc.

My questions are these:

Would the great grandson (descended through the male line) of a Dutch Count also be a baron?

Would his wife, when he married, be called baroness?

In the Netherlands, how are these nobles addressed? With a "my lord" equivalent or simply Mr/Sir ?

To any of you who might know or might point me in the right direction for where I can find out, thank you. I do not read Dutch but I'm very hardworking and can use Google translate to read source materials.

Thank you.
 
Hi Brenna, welcome on the forum.

Members of the Nobility have a noble title or noble predicate.

Someone belongs to the Nobility:
- if he or she has been granted nobility by Royal Decree;
- if someone's father belongs to the Nobility.

The Nobility in the Netherlands is a historical institution with historical rules, therefore titles are inherited exclusively along a male line. Daughters are of nobility too, but they can not pass on nobility themselves.

The sons and daughters of a jonkheer (= a noble without a title) are jonkheer and jonkvrouw.

The sons and daughters of a nobleman with a noble title bear:
- the same title, or
- a lower title, or
- the predicate jonkheer or jonkvrouw.
That depends on what has been determined when the title is created by Royal Decree.
Only the title of Ridder (knight) has no feminine form. The daughter of a knight is a jonkvrouw.

The titles in the Nobility of the Netherlands are:

prins / prinses
Prince / Princess (not of the Royal House)
Example: Philippe de Riquet de Caraman Chimay prins van Chimay

hertog / hertogin
Duke / Duchess
Example: Thierry Robert Henri Camille hertog van Looz en Corswarem *

markies / markiezin
Marquess / Marchioness
Example: Nicholas Power Richard Le Poer Trench markies van Heusden

graaf / gravin
Count / Countess
Example: Leila Marie Agnes Geneviève Andrée gravin de Marchant et d'Ansembourg

burggraaf / burggravin
Viscount / Viscountess
Example: Hans-Marald burggraaf de Preud'homme d'Hailly de Nieuport

baron / barones
Baron / Baroness
Example: Georg Wolfgang Carel Duco baron thoe Schwartzenberg en Hohenlansberg

ridder
Knight
Example: Maurice Hubert Frederik ridder De van der Schueren


* Has become Soutern-Netherlands Nobility (Belgium)
 
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Are they still van Zuylen (family of the late Hélène de R.) ?
 
When was the last new Dutch noble created exluding members of the Dutch RF and extended family?
 
These titles will appear in official documents and maybe on wedding invitations/ funeral announcements, society pages (not that we have many of those). Most birth and even announcements leave the title away.

They are seldom used in daily conversation. Even in a professional context they are seldom used these days. Perhaps only once in a while on the official webpage of a company (incl. the royal court) to give the board/ agency a bit of cachet.

F.e. the editor of the magazine Quote is Sander Cornelis, Graaf Schimmelpenninck. He does not use the title, he will not have it on his business card, it does not feature in the byline when he is invited as a guest in a television program. But it does appear on his Wikipedia page and newspaper articles about him may mention his background somewhere.

Our minister of interior affairs, Karin Hildur (Kasja) Jonkvrouwe Ollongren is never called 'freule' and is simply known as Kasja Ollongren.

The former CEO of KPMG is Albert Jonkeer Roëll. His title is seldom mentioned anywhere.

The head of one of the oldest and most prestigious surviving noble families is baron Arent van Wassenaer van Catwijck. He is lawyer and only uses Arent van Wassenaer. His wife is a doctor and does not use the title in a professional context either.

Author and theatre maker Marjolein Baroness van Heemstra does not use that title. It did pop up in interviews when she published a novel about somebody who was the last in the line of a noble family.

Complicated names of both the aristocracy as the patriciate are sometimes shortened when the person prefers. Ms Bracha Semeijns de Vries van Doesburgh is an actress, but is only known as Bracha van Doesburgh. Others prefer the entire name: Reverend Welmet Hudig-Semeijns de Vries van Doesburgh -who led the funeral of Queen Juliana- uses it all.
 
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maria-olivia said:
Are they still van Zuylen (family of the late Hélène de R.) ?
Click to expand...

There are two families of that name:

The counts van Zuylen van Nievelt (sometimes spelled as Nyevelt) was ennobled in 1311 and comes from the province of Utrecht.

The counts of this family became extinct with the death of Css Louise Marie Clemence van Zuylen van Nievelt (married to a baron van Nagell) in 1947.

There was a branch of the family that pre-dated the elevation of the family as counts. They moved to the Southern Netherlands but later bought and restored castle de Haar near Utrecht. Marie-Helene de Rotschild was a member of that branch. Her brother baron Thierry van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar died in 2011. He was the last male of the family. His five daughters are alive and can still use a part of the castle for themselves. Upon their deaths the family will be extinct.


**

A second family of almost the same name are the counts van Zuylen van Nijevelt. They can trace their anscestery back to Gerrit Fredericxz van Nyvelt, a tradesman from Zwolle in 1554. The family moved to Rotterdam where in the 17th century they added 'van Zuylen' to their name. The family was ennobled in 1808 by Napoleon and were in 1815 and 1822 recognized as Dutch nobility. The family tried to prove in the 19th century that they descend from the much older family of the same name, but they did not succeed.

The family owns the theme park Duinrell in Wassenaar, located on their estate.The present count is Philip, Graaf van Zuylen van Nijevelt. His wife is Countess Maria Louisa Alexandra (Bibi) van Zuylen van Nijevelt She was born as a Jonkvrouwe Den Beer Poortugael and is now the grand mistress of the Queen. Her own family originates in Schiedam, where they were regents of the city. The family was only ennobled in 1903.

When was the last new Dutch noble created exluding members of the Dutch RF and extended family?
Click to expand...

The last time a (non royal) family was ennobled was in 1939, the Van Valkenburg family from Haarlem. In 1953 the cabinet decided that it would not raise people into the nobility any longer. This only became law in 1994.

Note that apart from King Willem I the royal family was not overly generous in creating new titles. And a lot of the more prestigious patrician families refused to be ennobled, seeing it as a demotion instead of a promotion.
 
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