Daan Schuurmans talks about the origins of the Orange dynasty. With the marriage of Count Engelbrecht of Nassau to the Dutch Johanna van Polanen, the German Nassau family set foot on Dutch soil for the first time. More than a century later, descendant Willem received the title Prince of Orange thanks to an inheritance. This William of Orange-Nassau wants to strengthen his position by marrying the Protestant Anne of Saxony. But that gets him into big trouble with his ruler, the Spanish king Philip the Second.

The Oranje-Nassau family has become an indispensable part of the Netherlands. For centuries they have played a significant role in our history, right at the center of power, in good times and in bad. Will the Oranjes continue to color our history in the future?