He was the son of Henry III of Limburg and Sophia of Saarbrücken.

[1] In 1208, the imperial candidate Philip of Swabia died and Waleran, his erstwhile supporter, turned to his opponent, Otto of Brunswick.

In 1212, he accompanied his first cousin Henry I, Duke of Brabant, to Liège, then in a war with Guelders.

Waleran's first wife, Cunigunda, a daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine, died in 1214 and in May he married Ermesinda of Luxembourg,[2] and became count jure uxoris there.

He then took part in various imperial diets and accompanied the Emperor Frederick II into Italy.