[1] The lords of Ligne belonged to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the Crusades.

[2] The Ligne family began a progressive rise in the nobility, first as barons in the twelfth century, then counts of Fauquemberg and princes of Épinoy in the sixteenth century.

Lamoral I received the titles of Prince of Ligne and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in the early seventeenth century from Emperor Rudolf II.

The Princes of Ligne are also Grandees of Spain, but this dignity is held personally rather than in conjunction with the title.

Many of the Princes de Ligne have also been knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece.