Editing House of Orange-Nassau (section)

===United Kingdom of the Netherlands===
After a repressed Dutch rebel action, Prussian and Cossack troops drove out the French in 1813, with the support of the [[Patriottentijd|Patriots of 1785]].  A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out William V 18 years earlier. However, they were realistic enough to accept that any new government would have to be headed by William V's son, William Frederick (William VI). All agreed that it would be better in the long term for the Dutch to restore William themselves rather than have him imposed by the allies.<ref name=Rowen/>{{rp|230}}

[[File:Prince William of Orange gets wounded at the shoulder.jpg|thumb|left|Prince [[William II of the Netherlands|William of Orange]] wounded at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]], 1815]]
At the invitation of the provisional government, William Frederick returned to the Netherlands on November 30. This move was strongly supported by the United Kingdom, which sought ways to strengthen the Netherlands and deny future French aggressors easy access to the Low Countries' Channel ports. The provisional government offered William the crown. He refused, believing that a stadholdership would give him more power.  Thus, on December 6, William proclaimed himself [[Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands|hereditary sovereign prince]] of the Netherlands—something between a kingship and a stadholdership.  In 1814, he was awarded sovereignty over the Austrian Netherlands and the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] as well. On March 15, 1815, with the support of the powers gathered at the [[Congress of Vienna]], William proclaimed himself [[William I of the Netherlands|King William I]]. He was also made grand duke of [[Luxembourg]], and (to assuage French sensitivity by distancing the title from the [[Principality of Orange|now-defunct principality]]) the title 'Prince of Orange' was changed to 'Prince of Oranje'.<ref>{{cite book | last =Couvée | first =D.H. | author2 =G. Pikkemaat | title =1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren | publisher =N. Samsom nv | year =1963 | location =Alphen aan den Rijn | pages =119–139}}</ref>
The two countries remained separate, though they shared a common monarch via a [[personal union]].  William had thus fulfilled the House of Orange's three-century quest to unite the Low Countries.<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol5,398}}

The institution of the [[Monarchy of the Netherlands|monarch in the Netherlands]] is considered an office under the [[Constitution of the Netherlands]].<ref>Articles 24–49 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.</ref> There are none of the religious connotations to the office as in some other monarchies.{{cn|date=October 2022}} A Dutch sovereign is inaugurated rather than crowned in a [[coronation]] ceremony.{{cn|date=October 2022}} It was initially more of a crowned/hereditary presidency, and a continuation of the status quo ante of the pre-1795 hereditary [[Stadtholder|stadholderate]] in the [[Dutch Republic|Republic]].{{cn|date=October 2022}} In practice, the current monarch has considerably less power than the stadtholder.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

As king of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]], William tried to establish one common culture. This provoked resistance in the southern parts of the country, which had been culturally separate from the north since 1581. He was considered an [[enlightened despotism|enlightened despot]].<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol5,399}}

The Prince of Orange held rights to Nassau lands (Dillenburg, Dietz, Beilstein, Hadamar, Siegen) in central Germany. On the other hand, the King of Prussia, [[Frederick William III]]—brother-in-law and first cousin of William I, had beginning from 1813 managed to establish his rule in Luxembourg, which he regarded as his inheritance from [[Anne, Duchess of Luxembourg]] who had died over three centuries earlier.  At the Congress of Vienna, the two brothers-in-law agreed to a trade—Frederick William received William I's ancestral lands while William I received Luxembourg. Both got what was geographically nearer to their centre of power.<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol5,392}}

In 1830, most of the southern portion of William's realm—the former Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric—declared independence as Belgium. William fought a disastrous war until 1839 when he was forced to settle for peace. With his realm halved, he decided to abdicate in 1840 in favour of his son, [[William II of the Netherlands|William II]]. Although William II shared his father's conservative inclinations, in 1848 he accepted an amended constitution that significantly curbed his own authority and transferred the real power to the States General. He took this step to prevent the [[Revolutions of 1848]] from spreading to his country.<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol5,455–463}}