Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (November 18, 1522, La Hamaide near Ellezelles – June 5, 1568, Brussels) was a general and statesman in Flanders just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.
The Count of Egmont headed one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the Low Countries. Paternally, a branch of the Egmonts r...
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Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (November 18, 1522, La Hamaide near Ellezelles – June 5, 1568, Brussels) was a general and statesman in Flanders just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.
The Count of Egmont headed one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the Low Countries. Paternally, a branch of the Egmonts ruled the sovereign duchy of Guelders until 1538. His mother belonged to a cadet branch of the House of Luxembourg, and through her he inherited the title prince de Gavre. During his youth, he received a military education in Spain. In 1542, he inherited the estates of his elder brother Charles in Holland. His family's stature increased further in 1544 when he wed, in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and of the Archduke Ferdinand I at Spires, the Countess Palatine Sabine of Simmern, whose brother became the Elector Palatine...
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