First Stadholderless Period (1650-1672)
The stadholders of the 16th and 17th centuries were not sovereign rulers, though they did play an important role in the political life of the Dutch Republic.
In the province of Friesland, the stadholders came from the Frisian branch of the family. This branch consisted of descendants of William of Orange’s brother Jan. William Frederik was stadholder from 1640 to 1664, and Hendrik Casimir II from 1664 to 1696.
Meanwhile, another member of the family, Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, served the Republic as field marshal.
The States of Holland took responsibility for bringing up the young Prince of Orange, the future William III, in The Hague.