KINGDOM OF HOLLAND

The 'Kingdom of Holland' 1806 - 1810 (, ) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country. In 1807 Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom but in 1809, after an English invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the river Rhine to France.
King Louis did not perform to Napoleon's expectations - he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's - and the kingdom was dissolved in 1810 after which the Netherlands were annexed by France until 1813. The kingdom of Holland covered the area of present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. East Frisia (in present day Germany) was also part of the kingdom.[1]

Contents

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms

Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte was installed as King of Holland 5th June 1806. Originally the arms of the new kingdom were to be like those of the Kingdom of Italy [[2]] an eagle bearing a shield – with the arms of the United Netherlands, the lion now royally crowned. December 1806 A. Renodi in Paris designed arms quartering the Napoleonic eagle with the lion of the United Netherlands. Around the shield was the French Order of the ‘Grand Aigle’. Behind the shield are – typically for the Napoleonic heraldry – crossed sceptres and above the shield Napoleon's star.
20th of May 1807 King Louis – now called ‘Lodewijk’ - altered these arms, adding a helmet, letting out his brother’s star and replacing the Grand Aigle with his own - Dutch - Order of the Union and the old Dutch devise ‘Eendracht maakt macht’ around the shield. Exemplary for the innovation in Napoleon's heraldry are the two hands coming out of clouds from behind the shield holding swords, designating King Louis as ‘Connétable de France’ [[3]].