Prince of 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

Ath

Ath is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The Ath municipality includes the old communes of Lanquesaint, Irchonwelz, Ormeignies, Bouvignies, Ostiches, Rebaix, Maffle, Arbre, Houtaing, Ligne, Mainvault, Moulbaix, Villers-Notre-Dame, Villers-Saint-Amand, Ghislenghien...

 and Tournai

Tournai

Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....

. The lords of Ligne belong to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

. They began the progressive rise in the nobility: baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

s at the twelfth century, counts of Fauquemberg, and princes of Épinoy in the sixteenth century. Lamoral I received from the emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 Rudolf II

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor

Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...

 the titles of Prince of Ligne and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

.

Comte de Ligne

• Jacques de Ligne, Comte de Ligne, Prince de Fauquemberg, Prince de Mortagne
  Mortagne
  Mortagne is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.It shares its name with the eponymous river which borders the commune on its south-eastern side.-Geography:...
  
  , Baron de Belœil (c. 1552)
• Philippe de Ligne, Comte de Ligne et de Fauquemberg, Baron de Wassenaer et de Bailleul
  Bailleul
  - France :*Bailleul, Nord, in the Nord département*Bailleul, Orne, in the Orne département*Bailleul, Somme, in the Somme département*Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, in the Pas-de-Calais département*Bailleul-la-Vallée, in the Eure département...
  
  , Vicomte de Leiden (1533–1583)

Princes de Ligne

1. Lamoral
   Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne
   Lamoral I first Prince de Ligne , Count and since 1601 first Prince of Ligne and Prince d'Espinoy, was a Belgian diplomat of the 17th century.- Biography :...
   
   , Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1563–1624).
2. Albert Henri, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1615–1641)
3. Claude Lamoral, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1618–1679)
4. Henri Louis Ernest, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1644–1702)
5. Antoine Joseph Ghislain, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1682–1750)
6. Claude Lamoral
   Claude Lamoral, 6th Prince of Ligne
   Claude Lamoral II, Prince of Ligne was a Field marshal and sixth Prince in the House of Ligne....
   
   , Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1685–1766)
7. Charles-Joseph, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1735–1814)
8. Eugène, Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1804–1880)
9. Louis, Prince of Ligne (1854–1918)
10. Ernest, Prince of Ligne (1857–1937)
11. Eugène
    Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne
    Eugene de Ligne, 11th Prince de Ligne was the eldest son of Ernest, 10th Prince de Ligne and Diane de Cossé-Brissac...
    
    , Prince of Ligne (1893–1960)
12. Baudouin
    Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne
    Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne...
    
    , Prince of Ligne (1918–1985)
13. Antoine
    Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
    Antoine Maria Joachim Lamoral, Prince of Ligne, Prince of Épinoy, Prince of Amblise, Grandee of Spain was born on 8 March 1925 in Brussels, Belgium. He was the son of Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne and Philippine de Noailles...
    
    , Prince of Ligne (1925–2005)
14. Michel
    Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne
    Michel Charles Eugène Marie Lamoral, Prince de Ligne, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince d'Épinoy, Prince d'Amblise, and Grandee of Spain, was born on 26 May 1951 in Château de Belœil, Belgium. He is the son of Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne and Princess Alix Marie of Luxembourg. He is thus the...
    
    , Prince of Ligne (1951-)
    • • Heir: Henri
        Prince Henri Antoine of Ligne
        Prince Henri Antoine de Ligne was born on 1 March 1989 in Brussels, Belgium. He is the son of Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne and Princess Eleanora de Orléans-Braganza e Wittelsbach. He is the heir to head of the House of Ligne.-Ancestry:-References:...
        
         (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

Order of the Golden Fleece

The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...

. The following list is of those Princes, along with their year of investiture:

• 1599 - Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne
  Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne
  Lamoral I first Prince de Ligne , Count and since 1601 first Prince of Ligne and Prince d'Espinoy, was a Belgian diplomat of the 17th century.- Biography :...
  
  
• 1646 - Claude-Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne
• 1684 - Henri, 4th Prince of Ligne
• 1721 - Claude Lamoral, 6th Prince of Ligne
  Claude Lamoral, 6th Prince of Ligne
  Claude Lamoral II, Prince of Ligne was a Field marshal and sixth Prince in the House of Ligne....
  
  
• 1772 - Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne
• 1846 - Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne
• 1930 - Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne
• 1954 - Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne
  Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne
  Eugene de Ligne, 11th Prince de Ligne was the eldest son of Ernest, 10th Prince de Ligne and Diane de Cossé-Brissac...
  
  
• ???? - Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
  Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
  Antoine Maria Joachim Lamoral, Prince of Ligne, Prince of Épinoy, Prince of Amblise, Grandee of Spain was born on 8 March 1925 in Brussels, Belgium. He was the son of Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne and Philippine de Noailles...