The full title of the Netherlands national anthem is Wilhemus van Nassouwe, which translates as 'William of Nassau'. This is one of the titles of William I, Prince of Orange (a.k.a. William the Silent), who is regarded as the father of the Dutch nation. He led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule under the Habsburgs, which began in 1568 and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces (the forerunner of the modern Netherlands) in 1581.
William was born into the House of Nassau, as Count of Nassau–Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544, thus becoming the founder of the House of Orange–Nassau – which rules the Netherlands to this day.
William of Nassau was the great–grandfather of King William III of England (also known in Britain as Wiliam of Orange).
(Orange was a principality bordering the Rhône in what is now Provence, in the south of France. It became part of France in 1713 under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, which concluded the War of the Spanish Succession and marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe – in those times at least.)
The Wilhelmus was only recognised as an official national anthem in 1932, but it dates back to at least 1572 and has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population. The national anthem of Japan, Kimigayo, has the oldest lyrics (dating from the 9th century), but it had no tune until the late 19th century, making it a poem rather than an anthem for most of its lifespan.
© Haydn Thompson 2017–18