TheĀ House of Orange-Nassau, also known as theĀ House of OrangeĀ or rarely theĀ Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held theĀ Principality of Orange, is the currentĀ reigning houseĀ of theĀ Netherlands. The dynasty was established as a result of the marriage of Henry III of Nassau-Breda from Germany and Claudia of Chalon-Orange from French Burgundy in 1515. Their son RenĆ© of Chalon inherited in 1530 the independent and sovereign Principality of Orange from his motherās brother, Philibert of Chalon. As the first Nassau to be the Prince of Orange, RenĆ© could have used āOrange-Nassauā as his new family name. However, his uncle, in his will, had stipulated that RenĆ© should continue the use of the name Chalon-Orange. After RenĆ©'s death in 1544, his cousin William of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited all of his lands. This āWilliam I of Orangeā, in English better known as William the Silent, became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau. TheĀ Kingdom of the NetherlandsĀ has been a hereditary monarchy since 20 November 1813, when it was constituted as aĀ principalityĀ upon independence from Napoleonic France. It was raised to a kingdom on 16 March 1815. Following the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix, Willem-Alexander has been King of the Netherlands and head of the House of Orange-Nassau since 30 April 2013.