Horne's History

Horne was a small historic county of the Holy Roman Empire in the present day Netherlands and Belgium. It takes its name from the village Horn, west of Roermond. The residence of the counts of Horne was moved from Horn to Weert in the 15th century.

After the execution in 1568 of Philip de Montmorency who died without male heirs, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, as suzerain of Horne, was declared the direct lord and new count. The bishops ruled the county in personal union. Horne maintained its own laws and customs as well as its financial autonomy. The county included the communes of Neer, Nunhem, Haelen, Buggenum, Roggel, Heythuysen, Horn, Beegden, Geystingen and Ophoven.

It was suppressed in 1795, when it was occupied by the French, and it became part of the French département Meuse-Inférieure.

Philip de Montmorency's posthumous child's descendants makes up the House of Horne today.
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Coat of Arms of the House of Horne.

Philip de Montmorency

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Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horne
Philip de Montmorency was a Dutch noble of French descent born in 1524. He was a victim of the Inquisition in the Spanish Netherlands, passing away in 1568. He died while his wife, Anna Walburgis van Nieuwenaer, was pregnant with their first child, Christian I. Christian I was sent to New Netherland (present-day New York) as the colony was established to ensure his safety.

The Heads of the House of Horne

Dates are the length of the respective leader's leadership. Most names are anglicised.
  1. ​William Engelbert, Lord of Horne (?-1215)
  2. William I, Lord of Horne (1215-1264)
  3. William II, Lord of Horne (1264-1300)
  4. William III, Lord of Horne (1300-1301)
  5. Gerard I, Lord of Horne (1301-1330)
  6. William IV, Lord of Horne (1330-1343)
  7. Gerard II, Lord of Horne (1343-1345)
  8. William V, Lord of Horne (1345-1357)
  9. Dirk Loef, Lord of Horne (1357-1369)
  10. William VI, Lord of Horne (1369-1405)
  11. William VII, Lord of Horne (1405-1428)
  12. Frederick of Meurs, Lord of Horne (1428-1440)
  13. Jacob I, Count of Horne (1440-1471)
  14. Jacob II, Count of Horne (1471-1502)
  15. Jacob III, Count of Horne (1502-1531)
  16. John, Count of Horne (1531-1540)
  17. Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horne (1540-1568)
  18. Christian I, Count of Horne (1569-1658)
  19. Christian II, Count of Horne (1658-1658)
  20. Cornelius, Count of Horne (1658-1729)
  21. Diederik, Count of Horne (1729-?)
  22. Esther, Countess of Horne (?-1807)
  23. Joseph van Buskirk, Count of Horne (1807-1824)
  24. Sarah van Buskirk, Countess of Horne (1824-1882)
  25. Esrom Spaulding, Count of Horne (1882-1902)
  26. Adelbert Spaulding, Count of Horne (1902-1931)
  27. Verne Spaulding, Count of Horne (1931-1959)
  28. Marian Spaulding, Countess "Princess" of Horne (1959-2000)
  29. Edward Bieniak II, the Prince of Horne (2000-present)
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Marian Bieniak, the Countess of Horne from 1959 to 2000.
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Walburgis van Nieuwenaer, wife of Philip de Montmorency and mother to Christian I.

The Bieniak Family

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Coat of Arms of the Bieniak Family.
The Bieniak family is part of the Polish nobility, known as the szlachta. The Bieniaks most likely trace their origins to Germanic Europe. The family was officially established within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Silesia, 1676.

Throughout later centuries, members of the Bieniak family have migrated throughout Poland, Illinois, New York, Maryland, and Ontario.

On 26th July 1947, Edward I of Glücksburg-Bieniak married Marian Spaulding, styled Princess of Horne uniting the Bieniak and Horne families.

Today

Today, Horn is under Dutch jurisdiction, located in the province of Limburg in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, no longer under the jurisdiction of the House of Horne.

​The Head of the House of Glücksburg-Bieniak-Horne is styled as the Prince of Horne, currently Edward Bieniak II. His eldest son and heir, Dylan Bieniak, is the Hereditary Prince of Horne. Other members of the Princely Family are styled as Count/Countess of Horne.

The Bieniak family is officially headed by Prince Edward through Salic law, however Princess Marta Bieniak is presented as the honorary head of the Bieniaks.

The House currently supports multiple royal families and charities around the world. Also, official visits are conducted by members of the Princely Family.
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Edward Bieniak II, the Prince of Horne.

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Photo used under Creative Commons from marneejill