William the Silent

:For other men named William of Orange, see William of Orange (disambiguation)

Assassination

The Catholic Frenchman Balthasar Gérard (born 1557) was a supporter of Philip II, and in his opinion, William of Orange had betrayed the Spanish king and the Catholic religion. After Philip II declared William an outlaw and promised, which Gérard found out in 1581, he decided to travel to the Netherlands and kill him. He served in the army of the governor of Luxembourg, Peter, Count of Mansfelt for two years, hoping to get close to William when the armies would meet. This never happened, and Gérard left the army in 1584.

Related Topics:
Balthasar Gérard - Luxembourg - Peter, Count of Mansfelt

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He went to the Duke of Parma to present his plans, but the Duke was unimpressed. In May 1584, he presented himself to William as a French nobleman, and gave him the seal of the Count of Mansfelt. This seal would allow for forgeries of message of Mansfelt. William sent Gérard back to France to pass the seal to his French allies.

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Gérard returned in July, having bought pistols on his return voyage. On 10 July, he made an appointment with William of Orange in his home in Delft, nowadays known as the Prinsenhof. When he left the dining room and climbed down the stairs, Gérard shot him in the chest from close range, and fled. According to the official account http://www.onsverleden.net/nederlandseopstand/stvanhollandmoordwvo.htm, William's last words were (in French):

Related Topics:
10 July - Delft

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: "Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, ayez pitié de moi et de ton pauvre peuple" (My Lord, My Lord, have pity on me and your poor people)

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Members of the Nassau family were traditionally buried in Breda, but as that city was in Spanish hands when William died, he was buried in the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) in Delft. His grave monument was originally very sober, but it was replaced in 1623 by a new one, made by Hendrik de Keyser and his son Pieter. Since then, all members of the House of Orange, including all Dutch monarchs have been buried in the same church.

Related Topics:
Breda - Delft - 1623 - House of Orange - Dutch monarchs

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Gérard was caught before he could flee Delft, and imprisoned. He was tortured before his trial on 13 July, where he was sentenced to be brutally—even by the standards of that time—killed. The magistrates sentenced that the right hand of Gérard should be burned off with a red-hot iron, that his flesh should be torn from his bones with pincers in six different places, that he should be quartered and disemboweled alive, that his heart should be torn from his bosom and flung in his face, and that, finally, his head should be taken off.

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