A descendant from a noble family from Hainaut, Philip was the son of Charles I de Lalaing and Jacoba of Luxembourg.

He inherited the title of count of Hoogstraten from his childless uncle Antoine de Lalaing.

From this marriage he had two sons and three daughters: In 1543 Philip became stadtholder of the recently conquered Jülich for a short time.

The Regent of the Low Countries, Mary of Hungary, disagreed: she felt the province of Utrecht could not be uncoupled from Holland.

Eventually Philip succeeded René of Châlon in 1544 as stadtholder of Guelders, but his power was significantly reduced by the regentes in favor of the central government in Brussels Hoogstraten remained staunchly loyal to the emperor and was succeeded after his death in 1555 by the more headstrong Philip de Montmorency.