Willem van Steenhuys, Lord of Flers (1558–1638) was a noble magistrate and diplomat in the Spanish Netherlands.[1]
Willem van Steenhuys | |
|---|---|
 Privy councillors in the funeral cortege of Archduke Albert (1622), Steenhuys at far right | |
| councillor of the Great Council of Mechelen | |
| In office 1601–1638 | |
| Monarchs | Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1598–1621) Philip IV of Spain (1621–1665) |
| Governors General | Isabella Clara Eugenia (1621–1633) Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria (1633–1641) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 8, 1558 Lannoy |
| Died | April 30, 1638 (aged 79) Brussels |
| Resting place | Dominican church, Brussels |
| Spouse | Margaretha van Cottignies |
| Children | Filip Willem van Steenhuys |
| Parent | Jan van Steenhuys |
| Education | civil law |
Family
editVan Steenhuys was born at Lannoy on 8 October 1558, son of Jan van Steenhuys, Lord of Linghen, and Charlotte Preys.[1]
In 1591 he married Margaretha (Marguerite) van (de) Cottignies, daughter of Lancelot, Lord of The Hague. They had the following children:
- Maria van Steenhuys; married to Filip van Spanghen, Lord of Ter Liest.[2]
- Filip Willem van Steenhuys, who succeeded his father and became Baron of Poederlee; further descendants.
- Karel van Steenhuys, jurist[1]
Career
editHe obtained the degree of licentiate in law and on 7 June 1601 he was appointed a councillor of the Great Council of Mechelen, on 3 May 1611 councillor and master of requests of the Brussels Privy Council, and in 1613 commissioner in fiscal cases. He was an important advisor on monetary law.[2]
In June 1617 and January 1619 he travelled to Antwerp and Leuven to investigate the publication of Corona Regia, a scandalous libel of James VI and I.[3] In 1618–1619 he undertook a mission to the King of France, and in 1620 to Ambrogio Spinola in the Rhine Palatinate. On 8 May 1622 he was appointed to the Council of State and in October of the same year he was discharged as a privy councillor and despatched to assist the Spanish delegation at the Diet of Regensburg (1623). The same year he was knighted.
He returned to Brussels in April 1623. On 1 January 1627 he was appointed to the Admiralty council.[2]
Van Steenhuys died in Brussels on 30 April 1638 and was buried in the Dominican church.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Björn Volckaert, De leden van de Geheime Raad der Zuidelijke Nederlanden onder het bewind van de aartshertogen en Filips IV, 1609-1653. Een prosopografische studie on e-thesis
- ^ a b c d L. Bril, "Steenhuys (Guillaume de)", Biographie Nationale de Belgique, vol. 23 (Brussels, 1924), 756-758.
- ^ Jules Finot, Inventaire sommaire des archives départementales antérieures à 1790. Nord: archives civiles, series B, vol. 6, Chambre des Comptes de Lille, nos. 2788 à 3228 (Lille, 1888), p. 92.