Note 900 — Chapter XIV

According to Strada, some thought that William knew well what he was about when he left his son behind him at Louvain; and that he would have had no objection that the boy should be removed to Madrid,—considering that, if things went badly with himself, it would be well for the heir of the house to have a hold on the monarch's favor. This is rather a cool way of proceeding for a parent, it must be admitted. Yet it is not very dissimilar from that pursued by William's own father, who, a stanch Lutheran himself, allowed his son to form part of the imperial household, and to be there nurtured in the Roman Catholic faith. See Strada, De Bello Belgico, tom. I. p. 373.