The Orde van den Prince or Order of the Prince is a Flemish-Dutch society of men and women who do their best for the promotion of language and culture of the Netherlands (Flanders and Netherlands). Each month members meet on fixed locations, except during summer.

History

The organization was founded in November 1955, by the lawyer Guido van Gheluwe

Guido van Gheluwe

Guido Richard van Gheluwe is a Belgian lawyer and founder of the Orde van den Prince. He founded the Orde van den Prince on 2 November 1955, and was its president from 1955 until 1964. Since July 1965 he bears the honorary title of President Founder of the Orde van den Prince.-Education:Guido Van...

 from Kortrijk

Kortrijk

Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...

. The name of the society is derived from William the Silent

William the Silent

William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

. He was chosen because of his role in the history of the Netherlands and its tolerance (measured against the standards in those day). The logo of the Orde van den Prince is the capital letter P, surrounded by the words Amicitia (E: friendship) and Tolerantia (E: tolerance).

The organizations shows a steady increase in membership and now consists of 92 departments: 54 in Flanders, 26 in the Netherlands and 12 in other countries. She counts a bit more than 3000 members, and membership is on invitation only.