caption predecessor successor succession image article_title name reign spouses
duke william of jülich-cleves-berge , engraving from heinrich aldegrever john iii johann wilhelm duke of the united duchies of jülich-cleves-berg wilhelm v von jülich-kleve . jpg william , duke of jülich-cleves-berg
 william the rich 6 february 1539 -- 5 january 1592 joan iii of navarre
william , duke of jülich-cleves-berg

william of jülich-cleves-berge -lrb- william i of cleves , william v of jülich-berg -rrb- -lrb- ; 28 july 1516 -- 5 january 1592 -rrb- was a duke of jülich-cleves-berg -lrb- 1539 -- 1592 -rrb- .
william was born in and died in düsseldorf .
he was the only son of john iii , duke of jülich-cleves-berg , and maria , duchess of jülich-berg .
william took over rule of his father 's estates -lrb- the duchy of cleves and the county of mark -rrb- upon his death in 1539 .
despite his mother having lived until 1543 , william also became the duke of berg and jülich and the count of ravenstein .
from 1538 to 1543 , william held the neighbouring duchy of guelders , as successor of his distant relatives , the egmond dukes .
emperor charles v claimed this duchy for himself as the dukes had sold their right of heritage , and william tried to hold on to it .
he made a treaty with the king of france and married jeanne d'albret , and with this backup dared to challenge the emperor .
all too soon he learned that the french did not lift a finger to help him , and he was overwhelmed and had to surrender .
in accordance with the treaty of venlo -lrb- 1543 -rrb- that was the result of this war , guelders and the county of zutphen were transferred to charles v , holy roman emperor , combining them with the habsburg netherlands .
william then tried to strengthen his inherited territories and launched an impressive development project for the most important cities .
the three duchies all got new main fortresses as major strongpoints , for the older medieval fortifications had proved to be no match against the imperial artillery .
the cities of jülich , düsseldorf and orsoy became fortresses for the duchies of jülich , berg and cleves respectively , and jülich and düsseldorf were turned into impressive residences .
for this task , the renowned italian architect alessandro pasqualini from bologna was hired , who had already made some impressive display of his craft in the netherlands .
he made the plans for the fortifications and palaces , of which some traces still remain , especially at jülich where the citadel -lrb- built 1548-1580 -rrb- is a major landmark , with parts of the renaissance palace still standing .
william 's sister anne of cleves was , for six months , the fourth wife of king henry viii of england .
through his daughter , marie eleonore , he is an ancestor of alexander ii of russia , kaiser wilhelm ii , and the british royal family .
