Prince of Ligne

The Princes de Ligne is one of the most prestigious Belgian noble titles. It goes back to the eleventh century and owes its name at the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belong to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the crusades. They began the progressive rise in the nobility: barons at the twelfth century, counts of Fauquemberg and princes of Épinoy in the sixteenth century. "Lamoral I" received from the emperor Rudolf II the titles of Prince of Ligne and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.

Baron de Ligne

* Michel III de Ligne, Baron de Ligne et de Brabançon (+1468)

Comte de Ligne

* Jacques de Ligne, Comte de Ligne, Prince de Fauquemberg, Prince de Mortagne, Baron de Belœil (c. 1552)
* Philippe de Ligne, Comte de Ligne et de Fauquemberg, Baron de Wassenaer et de Bailleul, Vicomte de Leiden (1533-1583)

Princes de Ligne

#Lamoral I, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1563-1624).
#Albert Henri, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1615-1641)
#Claude Lamoral I, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1618-1679)
#Henri Louis Ernest, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1644-1702)
#Antoine Joseph Ghislain, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1682-1750)
#Claude Lamoral II, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1685-1766)
#Charles-Joseph, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1735-1814)
#Eugène, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1804-1880)
#Louis, Prince of Ligne (1854-1918)
#Ernest, Prince of Ligne (1857-1937)
#Eugène II, Prince of Ligne (1893-1960)
#Baudouin, Prince of Ligne (1918-1985)
#Antoine, Prince of Ligne (1925-2005)
#Michel, Prince of Ligne (1951-)
** Heir: Henri (son of the Prince Michel)

Knight of the Golden Fleece

Many of the Princes de Ligne have also been Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The following list is of those Princes, along with their year of investiture:

* 1599 - Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne
* 1646 - Claude-Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne
* 1684 - Henri, 4th Prince of Ligne
* 1721 - Claude Lamoral, 6th Prince of Ligne
* 1846 - Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne
* 1930 - Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne
* 1954 - Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne
* ???? - Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne

References

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p4444.htm#i44438 The Peerage.com]
* http://membres.lycos.fr/behgnam2/ligne-b.htm in French
* [http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org/Regions/Benelux/Ligne.htm Héraldique européenne] in French
* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/ligne.html Prodigy.net]