John William Friso
John William Friso (Dutch: Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the Hollands Diep in 1711.[1] From the end of World War II in 1945 until 2022, Friso and his wife, Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel, were the most recent common ancestors of all reigning hereditary European monarchs.
John William Friso
8 March 1702 – 14 July 1711
25 March 1696 – ca. 1702
ca. 1702 – 14 July 1711
25 March 1696 – 14 July 1711
14 July 1711
Hollands Diep, between Dordrecht and Moerdijk
25 February 1712
Background[edit]
Friso was the son of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz, and Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau who were both first cousins of William III. As such, he was a member of the House of Nassau (the branch of Nassau-Dietz), and through the testamentary dispositions of William III became the progenitor of the new line of the House of Orange-Nassau.[2] He was educated under Jean Lemonon, professor at the University of Franeker.[3]