| Willem van Steenhuys | |
| Office: | councillor of the Great Council of Mechelen |
| Term Start: | 1601 |
| Term End: | 1638 |
| Governor General: | Isabella Clara Eugenia (1621–1633) Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria (1633–1641) |
| Birth Date: | October 8, 1558 |
| Birth Place: | Lannoy |
| Death Place: | Brussels |
| Restingplace: | Dominican church, Brussels |
| Spouse: | Margaretha van Cottignies |
| Children: | Filip Willem van Steenhuys |
| Parents: | Jan van Steenhuys |
| Education: | civil law |
Willem van Steenhuys, Lord of Flers (1558–1638) was a noble magistrate and diplomat in the Spanish Netherlands.[1]
Van Steenhuys was born at Lannoy on 8 October 1558, son of Jan van Steenhuys, Lord of Linghen, and Charlotte Preys.[1]
In 1591 he married Margaretha (Marguerite) van (de) Cottignies, daughter of Lancelot, Lord of The Hague. They had the following children:
He obtained the degree of licentiate in law and on 7 June 1601 he was appointed a councillor of the Great Council of Mechelen, on 3 May 1611 councillor and master of requests of the Brussels Privy Council, and in 1613 commissioner in fiscal cases. He was an important advisor on monetary law.[2]
In June 1617 and January 1619 he travelled to Antwerp and Leuven to investigate the publication of Corona Regia, a scandalous libel of James VI and I.[3] In 1618–1619 he undertook a mission to the King of France, and in 1620 to Ambrogio Spinola in the Rhine Palatinate. On 8 May 1622 he was appointed to the Council of State and in October of the same year he was discharged as a privy councillor and despatched to assist the Spanish delegation at the Diet of Regensburg (1623). The same year he was knighted.
He returned to Brussels in April 1623. On 1 January 1627 he was appointed to the Admiralty council.[2]
Van Steenhuys died in Brussels on 30 April 1638 and was buried in the Dominican church.[2]