In 1567, Prince William fled the Netherlands with thousands of other opponents of Spanish rule. The following year, Prince William tried in vain to free his country from tyranny and religious persecution. But his three invasions with mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire failed completely. In the "Wilhelmus", the composer depicts the Prince addressing the oppressed people of the Netherlands in this terrible and dramatic situation. In his elevated speech interrupted by a prayer in verses six and seven, the Prince bears witness to his sincerity and determination, and expounds his innermost motives for rising against the King of Spain.

Prince William comforts his followers, but at the same time exhorts them to join in the struggle. He also reminds them of their duty to obey God. In what might be called a psalm of defiance, the poet compares Prince William with David, who had to flee from Saul, the first King of Israel, before himself becoming King. He commends the Prince to the people as the chosen leader of the revolt against Philip of Spain.

The tune of the "Wilhelmus" is based on a French soldier's song, which was popular around 1568 and alternates between three/four and four/four time. It probably originated at the time of the siege of Chartres. The melody was further developed by Adriaen Valerius (approx. 1575-1625). The oldest copy of the "Wilhelmus" is to be found in Deuchdelijke Solutien (Antwerp, 1574). Since 1626, it has been included in Valerius's Gedenckclanck, a wellknown collection of national songs.

The song's style resembles that of the work of the Rederijkers ("rhetoricians"), sixteenth-century companies of poets. For example, the first letters of the 15 verses spell the name "Willem van Nassov". The text is also thematically symmetrical, in that verses one and 15 resemble on another in meaning, as do verses two and 14, three and 13, etc., until they converge in the eighth verse, the heart of the song: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter/From King Saul's tyranny". The sober language and deep feelings that inspired "Wilhelmus" make it far superior to the fashionable works of its period.

On 10 May 1932, it was decreed that on all official occasions requiring the performance of the national anthem, the "Wilhelmus" was to be sung to the melody by Valerius. The need for an official national anthem was first proclaimed at the time of the foundation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. A contest was held, and a poem by Hendrik Tollens (1780-1856), Wiens Neerlands Bloed ("Whose Dutch Blood") was chosen. The music was by the composer J.W. Wilms. Although Wiens Neerlands Bloed was gradually replaced by the "Wilhelmus" during the late l9th century, regulations in the Royal Netherlands Navy and the National Police Force continued to require that both anthems be honored until 1939.

The "Wilhelmus" has been sung on many official occasions and at many important events since 1568. Important events have included the siege of Haarlem in 1573 and the ceremonial entry of the Prince of Orange into Brussels on 18 September 1578. Trumpets sounded the "Wilhelmus" at the visit of Prince Maurice to Breda, and again when he was received in state in Amsterdam in May 1618. When William V arrived in Schoonhoven in 1787, after the authority of the stadtholders had been restored, the church bells played the "Wilhelmus" continuously.

By then, it had come to be called the "Princes' March", having been banned during the rule of the Patriot party. At the celebrations marking the birth of the child who would later be King William II on 16 December 1792, it was sung after High Mass in the Catholic church in Venlo. Following the surrender of 's-Hertogenbosch to the French on 9 October 1794, the garrison withdrew with full military honors to the sound of the "Wilhelmus".

Once the rule of the Patriots had ended and the Netherlands had been liberated from the French in 1813, the "Wilhelmus" ceased to be the anthem of one Dutch party. It again came to symbolize freedom and independence. During the struggle between the Northern and Southern Netherlands, around 1830, the "Wilhelmus" became particularly popular. It was even played at the unveiling of the Plein 1813 independence memorial in The Hague 1869, and again at the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898

Life and my all for others
I sacrificed, for you!
And my illustrious brothers
Proved their devotion too.
Count Adolf, more's the pity,
Fell in the Frisian fray,
And in the eternal city
Awaits the judgement day.

I, nobly born, descended
From an imperial stock.
An empire's prince, defended
(Braving the battle's shock
Heroically and fearless
As pious Christian ought)
With my life's blood the peerless
Gospel of God our Lord.

A shield and my reliance,
O God, Thou ever wert.
I'll trust unto Thy guidance.
O leave me not ungirt.
That I may stay a pious
Servant of Thine for aye
And drive the plagues that try us
And tyranny away.

My God, I pray thee, save me
From all who do pursue
And threaten to enslave me,
Thy trusted servant true.
O Father, do not sanction
Their wicked, foul design,
Don't let them wash their hands in
This guiltless blood of mine.

O David, thou soughtest shelter
From King Saul's tyranny.
Even so I fled this welter
And many a lord with me.
But God the Lord did save me
From exile and its hell
And, in His mercy, gave him
A realm in Israel.

Nothing so moves my pity
As seeing through these lands,
Field, village, town and city
Pillaged by roving hands.
O that the Spaniards rape thee,
My Netherlands so sweet,
The thought of that does grip me
Causing my heart to bleed.

A stride on steed of mettle
I've waited with my host
The tyrant's call to battle,
Who durst not do his boast.
For, near Maastricht ensconced,
He feared the force I wield.
My horsemen saw one bounce it
Bravely across the field.

Surely, if God had willed it,
When that fierce tempest blew,
My power would have stilled it,
Or turned its blast from you
But He who dwells in heaven,
Whence all our blessings flow,
For which aye praise be given,
Did not desire it so.

Steadfast my heart remaineth
In my adversity
My princely courage straineth
All nerves to live and be.
I've prayed the Lord my Master
With fervid heart and tense
To save me from disaster
And prove my innocence.

Alas! my flock. To sever
Is hard on us. Farewell.
Your Shepherd wakes, wherever
Dispersed you may dwell,
Pray God that He may ease you.
His Gospel be your cure.
Walk in the steps of Jesu
This life will not endure.

Unto the Lord His power
I do not confession make
That ne'er at any hour
Ill of the King I spake.
But unto God, the greatest
Of Majesties I owe
Obedience first and latest,
For Justice wills it so.