Portrait of Philippe de Montmorency, Count of Horne, Admiral of the Netherlands, Member of the Council of State

Philips van Montmorency, 1524-1568, Count of Horn, Lord of Weert. Old copy after the lost original by Antonio Moro. Dated 1562. The Count of Horn had been part of the court in Brussels since 1540. He was stadtholder of Gelderland and Zutphen from 1550 to 1560. In 1559 he commanded as admiral the fleet that brought Philip II back to Spain. With Orange, Egmond and others he founded in 1562 the League of the High Nobles, which was directed against the growing influence of Granvelle, who was aligned with Spain, and the threatened introduction of the Inquisition. He was tolerant towards the reformers and in 1566, after the Iconoclastic Fury in Tournai, he attempted to mediate. He was subsequently forced to resign his functions, but remained loyal to the government. On 9 September 1567, Horn appeared before Alva, who had him arrested together with Lamoraal, Count of Egmond. After a trial, both were beheaded on 5 June 1568 on the Grote Markt in Brussels.