Count of Horne

1. In the service of the Spanish army, he defeated the French in the battles of Saint-Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558). Egmont was appointed stadtholder of Flanders and Artois in 1559. Count ofEgmont Count of Horne

2. Philip de Montmorency (1524-1568) was also known as Count of Horne. He was a stadtholder of Guelders and an admiral of Flanders. He was a knight of the Gol-den Fleece. In 1559 he commanded the stately fleet which conveyed Philip II from the Netherlands to Spain, and he remained at the Spanish court until 1563. On his return he placed himself with the Prince of Orange and Count of Egmont at the head of the party which opposed the policy of Cardinal Granvelle. When Granvelle retired the three nobles continued to resist the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition and of Spanish rule in the Netherlands. Together with the Count of Egmont he was seized, tried and condemned as traitor. They were executed on the 1568 in the great square before the town hall at Brussels.

3. The Spanish won a significant victory over the French in the Battle of San Quentin (1557) during the Franco-Habsburg War (1551-1559), which Philip II of Spain resumed having gained English support with Queen Mary as an ally. The battle took place on the Feast Day of St. Lawrence (August 10th). At the Battle of St. Quentin the French forces under Marshal de Montmorency were overwhelmed and Montmorency was captured by the Spanish forces under the command of the Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy in an alliance with English troops, and the French were defeated. After the victory over the French at St. Quentin, 'the sight of the battlefield gave him (Philip) a permanent distaste for war', he declined to pursue his advantage, withdrawing to the Netherlands. The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis ended the war. The Battle of Gravelines was fought on July 13, 1558 at Gravelines, near Calais. It was a part of during the 1547–1559 war between France and Spain. The battle resulted in a victory by the Spanish forces, led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont over the French under Marshal Paul des Thermes. The Spaniards were supportedby the English navy.

4. As a nobleman, Egmont was a member of the Council of State. Together with William of Orange and the Count of Hoorn he protested against the introduction of the inquisition in Flanders by cardinal Antoine Perrenot Granvelle, bishop of Arras. Egmont even threatened with his resignation, but after Granvelle left, there was a reconciliation with the king. In 1565, Egmont went to Philip II, the king of Spain, to plead for a change of policy in the Netherlands. Shortly after, the Iconoclasm started, and the resistance against the Spanish rule in the Netherlands increased. As a devout Catholic, Egmont deplored the iconoclasm, and he remained faithful to the Spanish king. After Philip II sent the Duke of Alva to the Netherlands, William of Orange decided to flee Brussels; Egmont and Hoorne decided to stay in the city. After his arrival, Alva almost immediately had the counts of Egmont and Hoorne arrested, and they were accused of treason. Even though Egmont remained faithful to the king until the last moment, he was condemned to death, together with Count Hoorne. On June 5, 1568, both men were decapitated on the Grand-Place in Brussels. Their death led to large protests in the Netherlands, and contributed to the resistance against the Spaniards.

5. (Unintended) martyr in the Duch Protestant resistance against Spanish Catholic authority in the Netherlands. Originally he had been a leading Dutch nobleman and advisor for Charles, Spanish King and Holy Roman Emperor--helping direct the Habs-burg victories against the French at St Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558) and repre-senting the Spanish crown in the negotiations leading to the marriage of Charles's Son Philip and Mary I, Queen of England. Tensions began to arise between Egmont and Philip (now Spanish King as Philip II) over the continual loss of  local authority as the Spanish crown took direct control over Dutch political and religious affairs. With the crown's appointment of Cardinal Granvelle as ruler of the Netherlands Egmont (along with William, Prince of Orange and Filips van Montmorency, Duke of Horn) success-fully petioned for Grenvelle's removal. 

6. But Philip still ignored Dutch protests and insti-tuted an ever heavier hand against the Protestants in the Netherlands. In 1565 Egmont, William and Horn subsequently withdrew from the Council of State in pro-test. Nonetheless Egmont had no desire to be linked with the Protestant party and even himself took stern action against Calvinist insurgency in Flanders. Indeed, when in 1567 Alva was commisioned by Philip to crush the Dutch Protestant rebellion against Spanish Catholic authority, Egmont refused to join the opposition party led by William of Orange. Even when William turned to German Protestants for assistance, Egmont confirmed his loyalty to the Spanish government under Margaret of Parma. Surprisingly Egmont was arrested by Alva upon the latter's arrival in the Netherlands and despite ap-peals on  his behalf by other noblemen, Egmont was beheaded in 1568 as a traitor to the Spanish cause. He thus became a widely acclained martyr in the cause of religious and political freedom for the Netherlands.