May 21, 1662: Marriage of King Charles II and Infanta Catherine de Braganza of Portugal

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Catherine de Braganza of Portugal, Johann of Austria, King Charles II of England, King Joâo IV of Portugal, Louis XIV of France, Portsmouth England, the duc de Beaufort

From the Emperor’s Desk: I interrupt my sabbatical to post this short entry concerning my favorite King.

On May 21, 1662 King Charles II and Infanta Catherine de Braganza of Portugal were married at Portsmouth in two ceremonies—a Catholic one conducted in secret, followed by a public Anglican service.

Catherine was born at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa as the second surviving daughter of Joâo, 8th Duke of Braganza, and his wife, Luisa de Guzmán. Following the Portuguese Restoration War, her father was acclaimed King Joâo IV of Portugal on December 1,1640.

With her father’s new position as one of Europe’s most important monarchs, Portugal then possessing a widespread colonial empire, Catherine became a prime choice for a wife for European royalty, and she was proposed as a bride for Johann of Austria, the duc de Beaufort, Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England.

May 6, 1954: Death Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia

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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, King Christian X of Denmark, Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess Charlotte of Prussia

Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) was the last German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia as the wife of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, the son of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Cecilie was a daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia was the daughter of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia was the fourth son and seventh child of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia.

On August 16, 1857, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia married Princess Cecilie of Baden (1839–1891), daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden.

Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the son of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his first wife Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz.

Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and her husband, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia were cousins. Both were descendants of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, and Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (from a collateral branch of the Mecklenburg Royal House).

Cecilie was a granddaughter of Charlotte of Prussia the eldest surviving daughter and fourth child of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, while her husband was a great-grandson of Charlotte’s brother, Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

She was brought up with simplicity. and her early life was peripatetic, spending summers in Mecklenburg and the rest of the year in the south of France. After the death of her father, she traveled every summer between 1898 and 1904 to her mother’s native Russia.

She spent most of her childhood in Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast. Her father suffered badly from asthma and the wet damp cold climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health.

As a result, Cecilie spent a large amount of time with her family in Cannes in the south of France, favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Cecilie met such as Empress Eugénie and her future husband’s great-uncle, Edward VII.

During the winter visit of 1897, Cecilie’s sister, Alexandrine, met her future husband, Crown Prince Christian, later Christian X of Denmark, shortly before the death of their father at the age of 46. After returning to Schwerin, Cecilie spent time with her widowed mother in Denmark.

The wedding of her sister took place in Cannes in April 1898. After the death of her father, she traveled every summer, from 1898 to 1904, visiting her relatives in Russia. Cecilie lived there in Mikhailovskoe on Kronstadt Bay, the country home of her maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia.

Engagement

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany in 1905.

During the wedding festivities of her brother Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin in June 1904, the 17-year-old Duchess Cecilie got to know her future husband, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.

German Emperor Wilhelm II had sent his eldest son to the festivities as his personal representative. Taller than most women of her time at 182 centimetres (over 5’11”), Cecilie was as tall as the German Crown Prince. Wilhelm was struck by her great beauty, and her dark hair and eyes.

On September 4, 1904, the young couple celebrated their engagement at the Mecklenburg-Schwerin hunting lodge, Gelbensande. The Emperor as an engagement present had a wooden residence built nearby for the couple. On September 5, the first official photos of the couple were taken.

Wedding

The wedding of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the German Crown Prince Wilhelm took place on June 6, 1905 in Berlin. Arriving from Schwerin at Berlin’s Lehrter Station, the future Crown Princess was greeted on the platform with a gift of dark red roses.

She was greeted at Bellevue Palace by the entire German Imperial Family and later made a joyeuse entrée through the Brandenburg Gate to a gun salute in the Tiergarten. Crowds lined the sides of the Unter den Linden as she passed on the way to the Berlin Royal Palace.

Emperor Wilhelm II greeted her at the palace and conducted her to the Knight’s Hall where over fifty guests from different European royal houses awaited the young bride including Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria as well as representatives from Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. On her wedding day, Emperor Wilhelm II presented his daughter-in-law with the Order of Louise.

The wedding ceremony took place in the Royal Chapel and also the nearby Berlin Cathedral. The royal couple received as wedding presents jewellery, silverware and porcelain. At the wish of the bride, Richard Wagner’s famous wedding march from Lohengrin was played along with music from The Meistersinger from Nuremberg conducted by Richard Strauss.

On her wedding day, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became Her Imperial and Royal Highness The German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia. She was expected to one day become German Empress and Queen of Prussia.

German Crown Princess

As German Crown Princess, Cecilie quickly became one of the most beloved members of the German Imperial House. She was known for her elegance and fashion consciousness. It was not long before her fashion style was copied by many women throughout the German Empire.

However, her husband was a womanizer and the marriage was unhappy.

After the fall of the German monarchy, at the end of World War I, Cecilie and her husband lived mostly apart. During the Weimar Republic and the Nazi period, Cecilie lived a private life mainly at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam.

With the advance of the Soviet troops, she left the Cecilienhof in February 1945, never to return. She settled in Bad Kissingen until 1952 when she moved to an apartment in the Frauenkopf district of Stuttgart. In 1952, she published a book of memoirs. She died two years later, on May 6, 1954, which would have been her husband’s 72nd birthday.

May 6, 1882: Birth of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia

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Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Head of the House of Prussia, House of Hohenzollern, King of Prussia, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, World War I

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; May 6, 1882 – July 20, 1951) was the eldest child of the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. As Emperor Wilhelm’s heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia.

Wilhelm was born on May 6, 1882 as the eldest son of the then Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg, where his parents resided until his father acceded to the throne.

When he was born, his great-grandfather Wilhelm I was the German Emperor and King of Prussia while his grandfather Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was the heir apparent, making Wilhelm third in line to the throne.

His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Princess Helena to help instead. His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm’s great-grandmother, was furious.

Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfather Friedrich III died and his father became emperor.

Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May. 6, 1954) in Berlin on June 6, 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam.

Cecilie was the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922). Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940.

However, Crown Prince Wilhelm was a womanizer and the marriage was unhappy. After the fall of the German monarchy, at the end of World War I, Wilhelm and Cecilie lived mostly apart.

Wilhelm was crown prince for 30 years until the fall of the German Empire on November 9, 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war.

After his return to Germany in 1923, he fought the Weimar Republic and campaigned for the reintroduction of the monarchy and a dictatorship in Germany.

After his plans to become president had been blocked by his father, Wilhelm supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, but when Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled.

Wilhelm became head of the House of Hohenzollern on June 4, 1941 following the death of his father. Although the Monarchy had been abolished, to his supporters and monarchists he had become Wilhelm III, German Emperor and King of Prussia. He held the position until his own death on July 20, 1951. He was succeeded in the headship of the House of Hohenzollern by his second son, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia.

May 3, 1870: Birth of Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

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House of Windsor, King George V of the United Kingdom, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Helen Victoria of Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Royal Titles, YWCA

Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (Victoria Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena; May 3, 1870 – March 13, 1948) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. From 1917 her name was simply Princess Helena Victoria.

Princess Helena Victoria (always known to her family as Thora) was born at Frogmore House, near Windsor Castle. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the third son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
and Countess Louise af Danneskjold-Samsøe.

Her mother was Princess Helena, the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her parents resided in Britain from marriage.

She was baptised in the private chapel at Windsor Castle on June 20, 1870. Her godparents were Queen Victoria, the Duchess of Cambridge (former Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel), Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, Prince Valdemar of Denmark, Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Princess Louise Auguste of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Caroline Amelie of Schleswig-Holstein (the latter two represented by the Duchess of Roxburghe).

She was a bridesmaid at the 1885 wedding of her maternal aunt Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg and also at the wedding of her cousins the Duke and Duchess of York (future George V and Queen Mary) in 1893.

She spent most of her childhood at Cumberland Lodge, her father’s residence as Ranger of Windsor Great Park. Known to her family as “Thora”, or sometimes “Snipe”, in reference to her sharp facial features, formally she used the names “Helena Victoria” from among her string of six given names.

First World War

As a male-line granddaughter of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Helena Victoria would have been styled Serene Highness (Durchlaucht) in the German Empire.

In May 1866, Queen Victoria had conferred the higher style of Highness upon any children to be born of the marriage of Princess Helena and Prince Christian, although the children were to remain Prince or Princess of Schleswig-Holstein.

In June 1917, a notice appeared in the Court Circular that a Royal Warrant was to be prepared by George V dispensing with his cousins’ use of the “Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg” part of their titles.

However no warrant was issued, nor were they formally granted the titles of Princesses of Great Britain and Ireland nor of the United Kingdom in their own right.

In July 1917, King George V changed the name of the British royal family to the House of Windsor. He also relinquished, on behalf of himself and his numerous cousins who were British subjects, the use of their German titles, styles, and surnames. Princess Helena Victoria and her younger sister, Princess Marie Louise, thereupon ceased to use the territorial designation “of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.”

Instead, they became known simply as “Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria” and “Her Highness Princess Marie Louise”. Although the two had borne German titles, their upbringing and domicile were entirely English.

Later life

Princess Helena Victoria never married. She followed her mother’s example in working for various charitable organizations, most notably YMCA, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and Princess Christian’s Nursing Home at Windsor. During World War I, she founded the YWCA Women’s Auxiliary Force. As its president, she visited British troops in France and obtained the permission of the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, to arrange entertainments for them.

Between the world wars, she and her sister, Princess Marie Louise, were enthusiastic patrons of music at Schomberg House, their London residence. After a German air raid damaged the house in 1940, the two princesses moved to Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square.

In ill health and a wheelchair user after World War II, Princess Helena Victoria made one of her last major appearances at the November 20, 1947 wedding of her first cousin twice removed Princess Elizabeth, to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

Princess Helena Victoria died at Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square. Her funeral took place at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and she was buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor Great Park. She died at the age of 77, the same age at which her mother, Princess Helena, had also died.

May 2nd, 1816: Marriage of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Conclusion

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August of Prussia, Carlton House, Duke of Sussex, Friedrich of Prussia, Marlborough House, Prince Augustus, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess of Wales, The Prince Regent

Negotiations over the marriage contract took several months, with Charlotte insisting that she not be required to leave Britain. The diplomats had no desire to see the two thrones united, and so the agreement stated that Britain would go to the couple’s oldest son, while the second son would inherit the Netherlands; if there was only one son, the Netherlands would pass to the German branch of the House of Orange.

On June 10, 1814, Charlotte signed the marriage contract. Charlotte had become besotted with a Prussian prince whose identity is uncertain; according to Charles Greville, it was Prince August, although historian Arthur Aspinall disagreed, thinking that her love interest was the younger Prince Friedrich.

August hi of Prussia (September 19, 1779 – July 19, 1843) was a Prussian royal and general and was the youngest son of Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia and Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt. He was also the brother of King Friedrich II the Great of Prussia.

Her suitor Prince Friedrich of Prussia (October 30, 1794 – July 27, 1863) was a Prussian prince and military officer, and the son of Prince Ludwig Charles of Prussia and Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, later Queen of Hanover, nephew of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and stepson of Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover.

Princess Charlotte of Wales was interested in Friedrich in 1814 and hoped to marry him. The pair met several times. However, the Prince suddenly got engaged to the daughter of Alexius Friedrich Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg, whom he married on November 21, 1817 at Ballenstedt.

At a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, Charlotte met a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Princess invited Leopold to call on her, an invitation he took up, remaining for three quarters of an hour, and writing a letter to the Prince Regent apologising for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible suitor for his daughter’s hand.

Leopold (December 16, 1790 – December 10, 1865) was the youngest son of Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army and fought against Napoleon after French troops overran Saxe-Coburg during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s defeat, Leopold moved to the United Kingdom.

The Princess of Wales opposed the match between her daughter and the Prince of Orange, and had great public support: when Charlotte went out in public, crowds would urge her not to abandon her mother by marrying the Prince of Orange.

Charlotte informed the Prince of Orange that if they wed, her mother would have to be welcome in their home—a condition sure to be unacceptable to the Prince Regent.When the Prince of Orange would not agree, Charlotte broke off the engagement. Her father’s response was to order that Charlotte remain at her residence at Warwick House (adjacent to Carlton House) until she could be conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, where she would be allowed to see no one except the Queen.

When told of this, Charlotte raced out into the street. A man, seeing her distress from a window, helped the inexperienced Princess find a hackney cab, in which she was conveyed to her mother’s house. Caroline was visiting friends and hastened back to her house, while Charlotte summoned Whig politicians to advise her.

A number of family members also gathered, including her uncle, the Duke of York—with a warrant in his pocket to secure her return by force if need be. After lengthy arguments, the Whigs advised her to return to her father’s house, which she did the next day.

Isolation and Courtship

The story of Charlotte’s flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported “All are against the Prince”, and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess. Despite an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, the Prince Regent soon had her conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge, where her attendants were under orders never to let her out of their sight.

She was able to smuggle a note out to her favourite uncle, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex. The Duke responded by questioning the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords.

He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment. Liverpool evaded the questions, and the Duke was summoned to Carlton House and castigated by the Prince Regent, who never spoke with his brother again.

Despite her isolation, Charlotte found life at Cranbourne Lodge surprisingly agreeable, and slowly became reconciled to her situation. At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent.This upset Charlotte, but she did not feel that anything she might say could change her mother’s mind, and was further aggrieved by her mother’s casualness in the leavetaking, “for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again”. Charlotte would never see her mother again.

In late August, Charlotte was permitted to go to the seaside. She had asked to go to fashionable Brighton, but the Prince Regent refused, sending her instead to Weymouth. As the Princess’s coach stopped along along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, “her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen”.

On arrival in Weymouth, there were illuminations with a centrepiece “Hail Princess Charlotte, Europe’s Hope and Britain’s Glory”. Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths. She was still infatuated with her Prussian, and hoped in vain that he would declare his interest in her to the Prince Regent.

If he did not do so, she wrote to a friend, she would “take the next best thing, which was a good tempered man with good sence [sic] … that man is the P of S-C” [Prince of Saxe-Coburg, i.e. Leopold]. In mid-December, shortly before leaving Weymouth, she “had a very sudden and great shock” when she received news that her Prussian had formed another attachment. In a long talk after Christmas dinner, father and daughter made up their differences.

In the early months of 1815, Charlotte fixed on Leopold (or as she termed him, “the Leo”) as a spouse. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Prince of Orange. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.”Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer.

Charlotte contacted Leopold through intermediaries, and found him receptive, but with Napoleon renewing the conflict on the Continent, Leopold was with his regiment fighting.In July, shortly before returning to Weymouth, Charlotte formally requested her father’s permission to marry Leopold. The Prince Regent replied that with the unsettled political situation on the Continent, he could not consider such a request.

To Charlotte’s frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.In January 1816, the Prince Regent invited his daughter to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and she pleaded with him to allow the marriage.

On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, “I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.”George gave in and summoned Leopold, who was in Berlin en route to Russia, to Britain. Leopold arrived in Britain in late February 1816, and went to Brighton to be interviewed by the Prince Regent. After Charlotte was invited as well, and had dinner with Leopold and her father, she wrote:

I find him charming, and go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life … I am certainly a very fortunate creature, & have to bless God. A Princess never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people.

The Prince Regent was impressed by Leopold, and told his daughter that Leopold “had every qualification to make a woman happy”. Charlotte was sent back to Cranbourne on March 2, leaving Leopold with the Prince Regent.

On 14 March, an announcement was made in the British House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of the Princess’s romances at an end. Parliament voted through a bill naturalising Leopold as a British citizen, awarded him £50,000 per year (equivalent to £3.91 million in 2020), purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house.

George also contemplated making Leopold a Royal Duke, the Duke of Kendal, though the plan was abandoned due to government fears that it would draw Leopold into party politics and suggestions that becoming a ‘mere duchess’ would be viewed as a demotion for Charlotte.

Fearful of a repetition of the Orange fiasco, George limited Charlotte’s contact with Leopold; when Charlotte returned to Brighton, he allowed them to meet only at dinner, and never let them be alone together.

The marriage ceremony was set for May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married.Charlotte’s wedding dress cost over £10,000 (equivalent to £782,579 in 2020).

The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.MarriageThe couple honeymooned at Oatlands Palace, the Duke of York’s residence in Surrey. Neither was well and the house was filled with the Yorks’ dogs and the odour of animals. Nevertheless, the Princess wrote that Leopold was “the perfection of a lover”.

Two days after the marriage, they were visited by the Prince Regent at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte “is a great mark of the most perfect good humour”.

Princess Charlotte and her husband returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of “God Save the King” from the company.

The couple lived initially at Camelford House on Park Lane, and then at Marlborough House on Pall Mall.

May 2nd, 1816: Marriage of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Part I

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King George III of the United Kingdom, King George IV of the United Kingdom, Napoleonic Wars, Prince Leopard of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Prince Willem of Orange, Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Prince of Orange, The Prince Regent, Willem VI of Orange

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (January 7, 1796 – November 6, 1817) was the only child of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV), and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Had she outlived both her grandfather George III and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died at the age of 21, predeceasing them both.

Charlotte’s parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte’s care to governesses and servants, only allowing her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country.

Her father George, Prince of Wales and later The Prince Regent, had been raised under strict conditions, which he had rebelled against. Despite this, he attempted to put his daughter, who had the appearance of a grown woman at age 15, under even stricter conditions. He gave her a clothing allowance insufficient for an adult princess, and insisted that if she attended the opera, she was to sit in the rear of the box and leave before the end.

With the Prince Regent busy with affairs of state, Charlotte was required to spend most of her time at Windsor with her maiden aunts. Bored, she soon became infatuated with her cousin George FitzClarence, illegitimate son of Prince William, Duke of Clarence.

FitzClarence was, shortly thereafter, called to Brighton to join his regiment, and Charlotte’s gaze fell on Lieutenant Charles Hesse of the Light Dragoons, reputedly the illegitimate son of Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.

Hesse and Charlotte had a number of clandestine meetings. Lady de Clifford feared the Prince Regent’s rage should they be found out, but Princess Caroline was delighted by her daughter’s passion. She did everything that she could to encourage the relationship, even allowing them time alone in a room in her apartments.

These meetings ended when Hesse left to join the British forces in Spain. Most of the Royal Family, except the Prince Regent, were aware of these meetings, but did nothing to interfere, disapproving of the way George was treating his daughter.

In 1813, with the tide of the Napoleonic Wars having turned firmly in Britain’s favour, George began to seriously consider the question of Charlotte’s marriage.

The Prince Regent and his advisers decided on Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange. Such a marriage would increase British influence in Northwest Europe. Willem made a poor impression on Charlotte when she first saw him, at George’s birthday party on August 12, when he became intoxicated, as did the Prince Regent himself and many of the guests.

Although no one in authority had spoken to Charlotte about the proposed marriage, she was quite familiar with the plan through palace whispers. Dr. Henry Halford was detailed to sound out Charlotte about the match; he found her reluctant, feeling that a future British queen should not marry a foreigner.

Believing that his daughter intended to marry Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the Prince Regent saw his daughter and verbally abused both her and Gloucester. According to Charlotte, “He spoke as if he had the most improper ideas of my inclinations. I see that he is compleatly [sic] poisoned against me, and that he will never come round.”

She wrote to Earl Grey for advice; he suggested she play for time. The matter soon leaked to the papers, which wondered whether Charlotte would marry “the Orange or the Cheese” (a reference to Gloucester cheese), “Slender Billy” [of Orange] or “Silly Billy”.

The Prince Regent attempted a gentler approach, but failed to convince Charlotte who wrote that “I could not quit this country, as Queen of England still less” and that if they wed, the Prince of Orange would have to “visit his frogs solo”.

However, on December 12, the Prince Regent arranged a meeting between Charlotte and the Prince of Orange at a dinner party, and asked Charlotte for her decision. She stated that she liked what she had seen so far, which George took as an acceptance, and quickly called in the Prince of Orange to inform him.

François III, Duke of Brittany and Dauphin of Viennois

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Anne of Brittany, Carlos I of Spain, Claude of Brittany, Dauphin of Veinnois, Felipe II of Spain, François I of France, François of Brittany, Henry VIII of England, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Mary I of England, Treaty of Madrid

François III (February 28, 1518 – August 10, 1536) was Duke of Brittany and Dauphin of Viennois. He was the first son of King François I of France and Duchess Claude of Brittany, the eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and Duchess Anne of Brittany.

Life

François I said of his son at birth, “a beautiful dauphin who is the most beautiful and strong child one could imagine and who will be the easiest to bring up.” His mother, Claude, Duchess of Brittany, said, “tell the King that he is even more beautiful than himself.” The Dauphin was christened at Amboise on April 25, 1519. Leonardo da Vinci, who had been brought to Amboise by François I, designed the decorations.

One of the most researched aspects of the Dauphin’s short life is the time he and his brother Henri (later King Henri II of France) spent as hostages in Spain. The king had been badly defeated and captured at the Battle of Pavia (1525) and became a prisoner of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, (King Carlos I of Spain) initially in the Alcázar in Madrid. In order to ensure his release, the king signed the Treaty of Madrid (1526). However, in order to ensure that François abided by the treaty, Charles demanded that the king’s two older sons take his place as hostages. François agreed.

On March 15, 1526, the exchange took place at the border between Spain and France. François almost immediately repudiated the treaty and the eight-year-old Dauphin and his younger brother Henri spent the next three years as captives of Charles V, a period that scarred them for life.

The Dauphin’s “somber, solitary tastes” and his preference for dressing in black (like a Spaniard) were attributed to the time he spent in captivity in Madrid. He also became bookish, preferring reading to soldiering.

Marriage arrangements

As first son and heir to a king of France the Dauphin was a marriage pawn for his father. He could not be wasted in marriage, as many felt his brother Henri had been with his marriage to Catherine de’ Medici, and there were several betrothals to eligible princesses throughout the Dauphin’s life.

The first was when he was an infant, to the four-year-old Mary Tudor (later Mary I of England), daughter of Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon; this arrangement was made as a surety for the Anglo-French alliance signed in October 1518, but abandoned around 1521 when Mary was instead betrothed to Charles V. Mary I of England would eventually marry Charles V’s son, King Felipe II of Spain.

Duchy of Brittany

In 1524, the Dauphin inherited the Duchy of Brittany on his mother’s death, becoming Duke François III, although the Duchy was actually ruled by officials of the French crown. The Duchy was inherited upon the death of François III by his brother, Henri; upon Henri’s succession to the French throne in 1547, the Duchy of Brittany and the Crown of France were merged, the Breton estates having already tied the succession of the Duchy to the French crown, rather than to the line of succession of the Dukes of Brittany, by vote in 1532.

Death

The Dauphin Francis died at Château Tournon-sur-Rhône on August 10, 1536, at the age of eighteen. The circumstances of his death seemed suspicious, and it is believed by many that he was poisoned. However, there is ample evidence that he died of natural causes, possibly tuberculosis. The Dauphin had never fully recovered his health from the years spent in damp, dank cells in Madrid.

After playing a round of tennis at a jeu de paume court “pré[s] d’Ainay”, the Dauphin asked for a cup of water, which was brought to him by his secretary, Count Montecuccoli. After drinking it, François collapsed and died several days later. Montecuccoli, who was brought to the court by Catherine de’ Medici, was accused of being in the pay of Charles V, and when his quarters were searched a book on different types of poison was found. Catherine de’ Medici was well known to have an interest in poisons and the occult. Under torture, Montecuccoli confessed to poisoning the Dauphin.

In an age before forensic science, poison was usually suspected whenever a young, healthy person died shortly after eating or drinking. There was no way to pinpoint and trace the substance after death; therefore, it was considered a quick, easy and untraceable form of homicide. There have been several other suspected cases of political-murder-by-poison in the French royal family through the ages.

April 25, 1843: Birth of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

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Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and By Rhine, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Albrecht of Prussia, Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince of Orange, Prince Willem of the Netherlands, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Princess Royal, Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom., Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (Alice Maud Mary; April 25, 1843 – December 14, 1878) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from June 13, 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Ludwig IV.

She was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Alice was the first of Queen Victoria’s nine children to die, and one of three to predecease their mother, who died in 1901. Her life had been enwrapped in tragedy since her father’s death in 1861.

In this blog entry I will be focusing on her marriage to the future Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

When her father, Prince Albert, became fatally ill in December 1861, Alice nursed him until his death. Following his death, Queen Victoria entered a period of intense mourning and Alice spent the next six months acting as her mother’s unofficial secretary.

Alice’s matrimonial plans were begun in 1860 by her mother. Queen Victoria had expressed her wish that her children should marry for love, but this did not mean that her choice of suitors would necessarily be extended to anybody outside the Royal Houses of Europe.

Raising a British subject to royalty, however high their rank, was politically objectionable, and also wasted any opportunity for a useful foreign alliance. The Queen instructed her daughter Victoria, recently married to Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, to produce a list of eligible princes in Europe.

Her search produced only two suitable candidates: the Willem, Prince of Orange; and Prince Albrecht of Prussia. Prince Albrecht of Prussia was a cousin to Victoria’s husband Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia.

Prince Albrecht of Prussia

Prince Albrecht of Prussia (1837 – 1906) was also a cousin of the Prince of Orange given he was the son of Prince Albrecht of Prussia and his wife Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, daughter of King Willem I of the Netherlands.

Willem, Prince of Orange (1840 – 1879), was heir apparent to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of King Willem III and his first wife, Princess Sophie of Württemberg. In 1849, after the death of his grandfather King Willem II of the Netherlands, he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent. His Victorian upbringing turned out to be a disaster.

The Prince of Orange was soon discounted. He journeyed to Windsor Castle so that Queen Victoria could look him over in person, but he proved unpalatable to Alice.

Prince Willem of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange

Albrecht of Prussia was born in Berlin, the son of Prince Albrecht of Prussia and his wife Princess Marianne, daughter of King Willem I of the Netherlands. His father was a brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, whose son was Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (future German Emperor Friedrich III) the wife of Princess Alice’s sister, Princess Victoria the Princess Royal.

Prince Albrecht of Prussia also showed little interest in Alice, despite strong pressure from his pro-British mother, Queen Sophie of the Netherlands. Prince Albrecht, too, was spurned, with Prince Friedrich Wilhelm remarking that his cousin would not do for “one who deserves the very best”.

With both of the leading candidates now discounted, Princess Victoria suggested Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, a minor German royal, the nephew of the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Princess Victoria had gone to the court of Hesse to inspect Ludwig’s sister, Princess Anna, as a potential bride for her brother, the Prince of Wales.

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom

Although not favorably impressed with Princess Anna, she was impressed with Ludwig and his brother Prince Heinrich. Both were invited to Windsor Castle in 1860, ostensibly so they could watch the Ascot Races in the company of the royal family, but in reality, the visit was a chance for the Queen to inspect her potential son-in-law.

The Queen admired both Ludwig and Heinrich, but noted how well Ludwig and Alice got along together. When the Hessian family departed, Ludwig requested Alice’s photograph, and Alice made it clear that she was attracted to him.

Engagement and wedding

Alice was engaged to Prince Ludwig of Hesse on 30 April 30,1861, following the Queen’s consent. The Queen persuaded the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, to secure the agreement of Parliament for Alice to receive a dowry of £30,000 (£2.86 million as of 2022).

Although the amount was considered generous at the time, Prince Albert remarked that “she will not be able to do great things with it” in the little realm of Hesse, compared to the riches that her sister Victoria would inherit as future Queen of Prussia and German Empress.

Furthermore, the couple’s future home in Darmstadt, the Grand Ducal seat, was uncertain. Although Queen Victoria expected that a new palace would be built, the people of Darmstadt did not want to meet that expense, and the resulting controversy caused resentment there. This meant that Alice was unpopular in Darmstadt before she even arrived.

Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine

Between the engagement and the wedding, Alice’s father Prince Albert died on December 14, 1861. Despite the Queen’s grief, she ordered that the wedding should continue as planned.

On July 1, 1862, Alice and Ludwig were married privately in the dining room of Osborne House, which was converted into a temporary chapel. The Queen was ushered in by her four sons, acting as a living screen blocking her from view, and took her place in an armchair near the altar.

Alice was given away by her uncle, Albert’s brother Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and was flanked by four bridesmaids: her younger sisters, Princesses Helena, Louise and Beatrice, as well as Louis’s sister Princess Anna. For the ceremony, Alice wore a simple white dress, with a veil of Honiton lace and a wreath of orange blossom and myrtle, but was required to wear black mourning clothes before and after the ceremony.

Prince and Princess Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine

The Queen, sitting in an armchair, struggled to hold back her tears, and was shielded from view by the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, her second son, who cried throughout the service.

The weather at Osborne was dreary, with winds blowing up from the Channel. The Queen wrote to her eldest daughter, Victoria, that the ceremony was “more of a funeral than a wedding”, and remarked to Alfred, Lord Tennyson that it was “the saddest day I can remember”.

The Princess’s life in Darmstadt was unhappy as a result of impoverishment, family tragedy and worsening relations with her husband and mother.

Marriage of Anna of Saxony and Willem the Silent, Prince of Orange

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Anna of Saxony, Beilstein Castle, Christine van Dietz, Holy Roman Empire, Jan Rubens, Maurice of Saxony, Philip II of Spain, Willem of Orange

Anna of Saxony (December 23, 1544 — December 18, 1577) was the daughter and heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Agnes of Hesse, eldest daughter of Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse. Maurice’s only son, Albrecht, died in infancy. Anna was the second wife of Willem the Silent, Prince of Orange.

Willem the Silent (April 24, 1533 – July 10, 1584) was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) Willem was born at Dillenburg Castle in the County of Nassau-Dillenburg, in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Count Wilhelm I of Nassau-Dillenburg and Juliana of Stolberg.

Anna’s wealth drew many suitors; before the proposal of the Prince of Orange in 1560, there were negotiations with the Swedish royal house. She accepted the suit of Willem I of Orange, and on June 2, 1561 the marriage contract was signed in Torgau. Anna’s dowry would be the large sum of 100,000 thalers. The wedding took place on August 24, 1561 in Leipzig. On September 1, 1561 William of Orange, along with his young wife, relocated to the Netherlands.

The marriage produced five children, of whom three survived to adulthood:

Anna (born and died Brussels, 31 October 1562).
Anna (Breda, 5 November 1563 – Franeker, 13 June 1588), married on 25 November 1587 to William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg.
Maurice August Philip (Brussels, 8 December 1564 – Brussels, 3 March 1566).
Maurice (Dillenburg, 13 November 1567 – The Hague, 23 April 1625), later Prince of Orange and Governor of the Netherlands.
Emilia (Köln, 10 April 1569 – Geneva, 6 March 1629), married on 7 November 1597 to Manuel of Portugal.

Just a few months after the wedding, in 1562 difficulties arose between Anna and Willem. Anna received letters from her uncle meant for Willem stating he should work more towards pleasing her.

Both tried to end the rumours that they had an unhappy marriage. By 1565, it was well known in all the courts of the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands that the marriage was an unhappy one.

Her uncle August tried to save face by making claims that disputes arose due to his brother Ludwig antagonizing Willem. In 1566 Willem finally complained about the “contentious” nature of his wife to her Saxon uncle August and her Hessian uncle Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Cassel (1532–1592).

After the death of her first son Maurice in 1566, Anna fell into severe depression and suicidal thoughts for the first time. She also tried to drown her grief with excessive alcohol consumption.

In 1567 Willem had to flee due to his opposition to the Habsburg Netherlands, and went with his wife to Dillenburg, the German headquarters of the family. On November 14, 1567 she bore a son and named him Maurice again. At the baptism of January 1568 a message arrived for William in Burgundy 11–19 stating that on December 20, 1567 all his Dutch lands and possessions had been confiscated.

When Willem on August 15, 1568 went back to Brabant to continue his war against the Spaniards, Anna decided on October 20, 1568 although pregnant again, to leave Dillenburg with her court (probably 43 people), to escape the antipathies of his mother and to create a new home in Cologne.

Their two children, Anna and Maurice, had been taken by her mother-in-law to Braunfels due to the risk of disease. The next year, after a fierce battle with Willem’s mother, she was able to bring her children back to him. Her daughter Emilia was born on April 10, 1569 in Cologne.

On March 4, 1569 Anna met her husband in Mannheim. Willem’s campaign against the Duke of Alba had failed, and King Felipe II of Spain had forced him out. After this, he left the Holy Roman Empire and went to support the Huguenots in France in their faith struggles.

Since Willem could no longer provide for the family, Anna looked to other means of support. She considered either persuading the Duke of Alba returning their confiscated goods, or demanding payment from Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Cassel as specified in the contract of 12,000 guilders or the castles of Diez or Hadamar. This would have meant a severe financial burden to be borne for Nassau. Anna became a substantial risk to the family.

To enforce their claims, they purchased the services of the successful lawyer Jan Rubens in the end of January 1569, the father of the painter Peter Paul Rubens, who had left Antwerp because of his Calvinist faith in 1568, and found refuge in Cologne.

The case was begun in January 1570 at the Royal Brussels to take fiscal action for their confiscated goods in the Netherlands.

Affair

Anna desired to see her husband again and met with him in May 1570 in Butzbach to discuss financial matters as well as other important topics. In June 1570, Anna and Willem moved in together again in Siegen for a few weeks, where she had settled with her three children. It was there where she began an affair with her lawyer Jan Rubens.

During the Christmas holidays from December 24 to 26 1570 Willem visited his family there again. It was likely a harmonious time, because he persuaded Anna to visit him in January 1571 in Dillenburg, where she even was willing to forego, for the time, payments from her jointure. She was pregnant again, this time from her lover. Willem accused Anna of adultery at this point and made plans to separate from her.

Rubens was often with Anna because he was their counsellor, financial advisor and attorney, and thus was suspected of adultery with Anna between March 7 and 10, 1571. He was arrested outside the city of Siegen when he was on his way to see her.

Rubens was blackmailed for a suitable confession. Anna was put under pressure too: either they must confess themselves or Rubens would be executed.

Anna agreed on March 26, 1571 to plead guilty. OnAugust 22, 1571 Anna’s last child, Christine, was born. On the basis of the allegation, Willem of Orange didn’t recognize the child as his daughter. Christine received the name van Dietz. On December 14, 1571 Anna had to sign their consent to the final separation from her husband. In addition, Willem of Orange was not willing to pay maintenance for her.

Imprisonment and death

In September 1572 Anna decided to challenge the Imperial Court’s ruling for her financial rights. At this time her Hessian and Saxon relatives had already made plans to turn Beilstein castle into a prison, to hold her captive as an adulteress. On October 1, 1572, she was brought there with her youngest daughter Christine. Three years later, her daughter was taken from her.

In March of that year, although the divorce was not finalized, the first news appeared of an impending remarriage of Willem of Orange. His chosen wife was the former Abbess of Jouarre, Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier, a daughter of Louis II of Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, and his first wife, Jacqueline de Longwy.

Outraged at this news, some of Anna’s relatives demanded the return of large wedding gifts despite her possible infidelity. Her Uncle August also demanded of Willem, whom he now called “Head of all the rogues and rebels ” claimed one of the counties of Nassau, Hadamar and Diez.

August of Saxony also insisted that the marriage of the prince was not legally ended yet, and thus he had no right to remarry or confiscate her property. Anna did not admit her adultery in court, and if she did, then she could have proven that the prince had broken his marriage agreement. He also ordered the immediate transfer of his niece from Nassau to Saxony.

When Anna learned in December 1575 of her upcoming transferral to Saxony, she attempted suicide. After a long stay in Zeitz, she was taken to Dresden in December 1576. There, the windows of her room were walled up and fitted with additional iron bars. At the door was a square hole in the top panel that provided a narrow grid, which was closed off outside. Through this hole food and drinks were served to her. At the door there was also another iron gate, virtually guaranteeing no chance of escape.

As of May 1577, Anna was continuously hemorrhaging. She died on December 18, 1577, shortly before her 33rd birthday. Her bones reportedly lie in the cathedral of Meissen near her ancestors in a nameless tomb.

April 24, 1533: Birth of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange

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Anne of Saxony, Dutch Uprising, King Philip II of Spain, Margaret of Parma, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, the Netherlands, Willem the Silent, William the Silent, Zeeland and Utrecht

Willem the Silent (April 24, 1533 – July 10, 1584) was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1581. Born into the House of Nassau, he became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the Orange-Nassau branch and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, he is also known as Father of the Fatherland.

Early life and education

Willem was born on April 24, 1533 at Dillenburg Castle in the County of Nassau-Dillenburg, in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Count Wilhelm I of Nassau-Dillenburg and Juliana of Stolberg.

Willem’s father had one surviving daughter by his previous marriage, and his mother had four surviving children by her previous marriage. His parents had twelve children together, of whom Willem was the eldest; he had four younger brothers and seven younger sisters. The family was religiously devout and Willem was raised a Lutheran.

In 1544, Willem’s agnatic first cousin, René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, died in the siege of St Dizier, childless. In his testament, René of Chalon named Willem the heir to all his estates and titles, including that of Prince of Orange, on the condition that he receive a Roman Catholic education.

Willem’s father acquiesced to this condition on behalf of his 11-year-old son, and this was the founding of the House of Orange-Nassau. Besides the Principality of Orange (located today in France) and significant lands in Germany, Willem also inherited vast estates in the Low Countries (present-day Netherlands and Belgium) from his cousin. Because of Willem’s young age, Emperor Charles V, who was the overlord of most of these estates, served as regent until Williem was old enough to rule them himself.

On July 6, 1551, Willem married Anna, daughter and heir of Maximiliaan van Egmond, an important Dutch nobleman, a match that had been secured by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Anna’s father had died in 1548, and therefore Willem became Lord of Egmond and Count of Buren upon his wedding day. The marriage was a happy one and produced three children, one of whom died in infancy. Anna died on March 24, 1558, aged 25, leaving Willem much grieved.

On August 25, 1561, Willem of Orange married for the second time. Willem’s second wife was Anna of Saxony, the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Agnes, eldest daughter of Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse

His new wife was described by contemporaries as “self-absorbed, weak, assertive, and cruel”, and it is generally assumed that Willem married her to gain more influence in Saxony, Hesse and the Palatinate. The couple had five children. They divorced in 1571.

The marriage used Lutheran rites, and marked the beginning of a gradual change in his religious opinions, which was to lead Willem to revert to Lutheranism and eventually moderate Calvinism. Still, he remained tolerant of other religious opinions.

Up to this time Willem’s life had been marked by lavish display and extravagance. He surrounded himself with a retinue of young noblemen and dependents and kept open house in his magnificent Nassau palace at Brussels.

Consequently the revenue of his vast estates was not sufficient to prevent him being crippled by debt. But after his return from France, a change began to come over Willem. King Felipe II of Spain made him councillor of state, knight of the Golden Fleece, and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, but there was a latent antagonism between the natures of the two men.

Willem married for a third time to the former Abbess of Jouarre, Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier, a daughter of Louis II of Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, and his first wife, Jacqueline de Longwy.

Willem also served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands and natural half-sister to Felipe II.

The Dutch uprising began with the increased opposition to Spanish rule among the then mostly Catholic population of the Netherlands. Lastly, the opposition wished to see an end to the presence of Spanish troops.

Willem was unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, Willem joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by Felipe II of Spain in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard in Delft in 1584.

Willem’s eldest son, Philip Willem, by his first wife Anna van Egmont, succeeded him as Prince of Orange.