Category Archives: Dutch Royals

King William III of England, also Willem III, Prince of Orange

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King William III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King William III of England was born on November 14, 1650, at Binnenhof Palace in The Hague in the Dutch Republic, now in the Netherlands. He was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. His 19-year-old widowed mother wanted to name her son Charles after her brother (King Charles II of England), but her mother-in-law insisted that her grandson be named William Henry (in Dutch Willem Hendrik), and she got her way. During William’s minority as Prince of Orange, his mother had to share his guardianship with his paternal grandmother Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, whose wife Louise Henriette of Nassau, was the elder sister of William’s father.

William III, Prince of Orange in 1654; Credit – Wikipedia

The infant Willem III, Prince of Orange had an impressive royal genealogy. He was the great-grandson of Willem I, Prince of Orange, better known as William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. His maternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Princess Henrietta Maria of France. His great-grandparents on his mother’s side were King James I of England/James VI of Scotland (son of Mary, Queen of Scots) and Princess Anne of Denmark (daughter of King Frederik II of Denmark), and King Henri IV of France and Marie de’Medici.

William’s parents: Mary, Princess Royal and William II, Prince of Orange in 1647 by Gerard van Honthorst; Credit – Wikipedia

William’s early education, conducted by tutors, was designed to prepare him to carry out the destiny of the House of Orange-Nassau and to raise him in the Reformed Church which used the theology of John Calvin. From 1659-1666, William attended the University of Leiden although he never formally enrolled as a student. On December 23, 1660, his mother died at the age of 29 of smallpox while visiting her brother King Charles II in London.

Portrait of William III of Orange, aged 10, within a flower garland filled with symbols of the House of Orange; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1667, William was admitted to the Council of State of the Dutch Provinces. His first visit to England was in 1670 where he met Mary, his eight-year-old first cousin, daughter of his uncle James, Duke of York (the future King James II of England), who later became his wife. William was appointed Stadtholder of the United Provinces in 1672, an office practically hereditary in his family. However, 1672 is known in Dutch history as Rampjaar (disaster year). France under King Louis XIV invaded the United Provinces in the Franco-Dutch War. William led the Dutch forces against the French and in 1678 he forced a peace with France in which the Dutch received all the terms they wanted.

William in 1672; Credit – Wikipedia

During the war with France, William’s uncle King Charles II of England acted as a mediator between France and the Netherlands. Savvy William negotiated a political marriage with England by marrying his first cousin Mary, the elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England/James VII of Scotland. 27-year-old William and a weepy 15-year-old Mary, prodded on by her uncle King Charles II, were married at St. James’ Palace in London on November 4, 1677. William and Mary formally entered into The Hague on December 14, 1677. Mary soon became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage which may have prevented any successful pregnancies. It is suspected that she had at least two more miscarriages. Her inability to have children was Mary’s greatest unhappiness. Despite their physical mismatch, Mary was quite tall (5 feet 11 inches; 180 cm) and towered over the undersized and asthmatic William (5 feet 6 inches; 167 cm), William adored Mary, and Mary was devoted to William. Unlike his uncles, Charles II and James II who had many mistresses, William reputedly had only one mistress, Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney.

Mary in 1677 by Sir Peter Lely; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1685, William and Mary’s uncle King Charles II died without any legitimate children despite having at least 14 illegitimate children. Mary’s father, who had converted to Roman Catholicism, succeeded his brother as King James II. Mary and her younger sister Anne were James’ only surviving children and were first and second in the line of succession followed by William who was third as the only child of King Charles I’s eldest surviving daughter. King James II was set on a course to restore Catholicism to England. He issued a Declaration of Indulgence removing restrictions imposed on those that did not conform to the Church of England. England might have tolerated King James II knowing that his heirs were the Protestant daughters of his first wife Anne Hyde, Mary and Anne. However, on June 10, 1688, James’ second wife Maria Beatrice of Modena, who had no surviving children, gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward. Immediately, false rumors swirled that the infant had been smuggled into the queen’s chambers in a warming pan.

On November 5, 1688, William III, Prince of Orange, the nephew and son-in-law of King James II, landed in England vowing to safeguard the Protestant interest. He marched to London, gathering many supporters. James panicked and sent his wife and infant son to France. He tried to flee to France about a month later but was captured. William had no desire to make his uncle a martyr, so he allowed him to escape. James was received in France by his first cousin King Louis XIV of France, who offered him a palace and a pension.

Back in England, Parliament refused to depose James but declared that having fled to France, James had effectively abdicated the throne. Therefore, the throne had become vacant. James’s elder daughter Mary was declared Queen Mary II and was to rule jointly with her husband William, who would be King William III. This overthrow of King James II is known as the Glorious Revolution.  James was determined to regain the throne and landed in Ireland with a French force in 1689. James’ nephew William defeated him at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690. James was forced to withdraw again to France where he lived in exile for the rest of his life.

The Battle of the Boyne by Jan van Huchtenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

William and Mary were crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, England on April 11, 1689. Since they were joint sovereigns, a duplicate coronation chair and a duplicate set of regalia were required for the coronation ceremony. At previous coronations, monarchs had sworn to uphold the laws made by their ancestors. However, William and Mary swore to rule according to “the statutes in Parliament agreed upon and laws and customs of the same” and promised to uphold the Protestant reformed religion.

On December 16, 1689, Parliament passed the Bill of Rights 1689 which limited the monarch’s powers and set out the rights of Parliament. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 are still in effect in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms. However, both have been amended by the Perth Agreement 2011 which took effect on March 26, 2015. The Bill of Rights also confirmed the succession to the throne. Following the death of either William or Mary, the other was to continue to reign. Next in the line of succession would be any children of the couple, followed by Mary’s sister Anne and her children. Last in the line of succession stood any children William III might have from any future marriage. Beginning in 1690, William was often on military campaigns and Mary was left to reign. She was not keen on assuming such power but did so with the advice of a nine-member Cabinet Council.

William and Mary left a legacy in the United States. In 1693, William and Mary granted a royal charter to found the College of William and Mary, now in present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the second oldest university in the United States after Harvard University and the only university in the United States with a royal charter. The College of William and Mary educated American Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler and other key figures important to the development of the United States as a nation, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Speaker of the House of Representatives Henry Clay, sixteen members of the Continental Congress, and four signers of the Declaration of Independence. Another alumnus of The College of William and Mary is this writer’s son.

William and Mary depicted on the ceiling of the Painted Hall, Greenwich, by Sir James Thornhill; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary died of smallpox at Kensington Palace in London, England on December 28, 1694, at the age of 32. The same disease had killed both of William’s parents. William was devastated by Mary’s death and said “from being the happiest” he was “now going to be the miserablest creature on earth.” William continued to reign alone for the remainder of his life.

Queen Mary II, 1690 by Sir Godfrey Kneller – Credit – Wikipedia

Perhaps the greatest blow in William’s last years was the death of the 11-year-old William, Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving child of his sister-in-law and his heir presumptive Princess Anne in July of 1700. This death and the failure of the Protestant Stuarts to produce heirs meant the end of the Protestant Stuart dynasty, as the legitimate descendants of King Charles I were either childless or Roman Catholic. The Act of Settlement 1701 secured the Protestant succession to the throne after William’s sister-in-law and heir presumptive Princess Anne. The act excluded the former King James II (who died a few months after the act received royal assent) and the Roman Catholic children from his second marriage and also excluded the descendants of King James II’s sister Henrietta, the youngest daughter of King Charles I. Parliament’s choice was limited to the Protestant descendants of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine, the only other child of King James I not to have died in childhood. The senior Protestant descendant was Elizabeth’s youngest daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover.  The Act of Settlement put Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs in the line of succession after Anne. Ultimately, Sophia died on June 8, 1714, before the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714, and Sophia’s son became King George I and started the Hanover dynasty.

Princess Anne embraces her only surviving child, the Duke of Gloucester, in a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c. 1694; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 20, 1702, William went riding on his horse Sorrel at Hampton Court Palace. The horse stumbled on a molehill and fell. William tried to pull the horse up by the reins, but the horse’s movements caused William to fall on his right shoulder. His collarbone was broken and was set by a surgeon. However, instead of resting, William insisted on returning to Kensington Palace that evening by coach. A week later, it was discovered that the fracture was not mending well and William’s right hand and arm were puffy and did not look right. His condition continued to worsen and by March 3, William had a fever and had difficulty breathing. King William III died on March 8, 1702. When the servants undressed William’s body, they found Mary’s small gold ring on a black ribbon around his neck. He had made it into a locket after Mary’s death and it contained a lock of Mary’s hair. While Mary had been buried with pomp, William was buried at Westminster Abbey in a private, modest ceremony at midnight on April 12, 1702.

Inscription on the floor of the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey marking the grave of William III; Credit – findagrave.com

Stuart Royal Vault at Westminster Abbey; Credit – www.westminster-abbey.org

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Recommended Book: William and Mary by John Van der Kiste, 2003

House of Stuart Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Louise of the Netherlands, Queen of Sweden and Norway

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Queen Lovisa of Sweden and Norway, photographed by Maths. Hansen, c.1865. source: Wikipedia/National Library of Norway

Queen Lovisa of Sweden was the wife of King Carl XV of Sweden (also King Karl IV of Norway). She was born Princess Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise of the Netherlands on August 5, 1828, in The Hague, the Netherlands. Her father, Prince Frederik of the Netherlands, was a son of King Willem I of the Netherlands, and her mother, Princess Luise of Prussia, was a daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. She had three younger siblings:

  • Prince Frederik (1833 – 1834) – died at 16 months old
  • Prince Willem (1836 – 1846) – died at 9 years old
  • Princess Marie (1845 – 1910) – married Wilhelm, Prince of Wied, had issue

Princess Louise was educated by a governess, studying French, German, English, Russian, and piano. Following her confirmation in 1845, a hunt began to find a suitable husband for the young princess. In 1849, she met Prince Carl of Sweden, the son and heir of King Oscar I, and negotiations were soon underway to arrange a marriage between the two. While Louise was enamored of her future husband from their first meeting, he found her unattractive. However, King Oscar wanted to create familial ties between the relatively new Bernadotte dynasty and the other long-established European dynasties. With Louise’s Dutch and Prussian families and the promise of a large dowry, she was an ideal candidate. Prince Carl eventually conceded to his father’s wishes and the couple’s engagement was announced in February 1850. Louise quickly learned to speak Swedish, although she never studied Norwegian.

Louise and Carl were married on June 19, 1850, at the Storkyrkan in Stockholm, Sweden and the couple had two children:

Lovisa with her husband and daughter, late 1850s. source: Wikipedia

The marriage was an unhappy one. Lovisa (as she was now known) was desperately in love with her husband, but he was consistently unfaithful to her. Having had complications in her second pregnancy, Louise was unable to bear any more children. Following their son’s death in 1854, leaving no male heir to inherit the throne, Lovisa offered her husband a divorce, which he declined.

Upon her father-in-law’s death on July 8, 1859, her husband ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway and Lovisa became Queen. She was crowned with her husband in Sweden on May 3, 1860, and in Norway on August 5, 1860. She was the first Queen in the union of Sweden and Norway to be crowned in both countries, as the two previous consorts had been Catholic and could not be crowned in Norway.

Unlike her predecessors, Lovisa took little interest in politics. Instead, she put her efforts into philanthropic work, founding and supporting numerous charities in both Sweden and Norway. She preferred these activities to those of the formal court functions she was required to attend as Queen and often feigned illness to avoid attending. However, she did suffer from ill health, often experiencing fainting spells, and at least once having what may have been an epileptic seizure. The cause of these maladies was typically attributed to her husband’s affairs.

Tombs of King Carl XV and Queen Lovisa. photo © Susan Flantzer

Lovisa traveled to the Netherlands to be at her mother’s deathbed in late 1870. Upon returning, her husband fell ill and she nursed him back to health. Physically drained, Lovisa contracted pneumonia and died on March 30, 1871, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. She was buried at the Riddarholm Churchen in Stockholm, Sweden. Despite their strained relationship, King Carl XV was reportedly distraught at Lovisa’s death and died a year and a half later.

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Her Serene Highness Princess Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont (Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia) was born on August 2, 1858, at Arolsen Castle in the town of Arolsen, the capital of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Today the town is known as Bad Arolsen and is located in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district of Hesse in Germany. Her parents were George Victor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Princess Helena of Nassau. Through both of her parents, Helena was a descendant of Anne, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain.

Helena, the fourth of seven children, had five sisters and one brother. Her brother Friedrich was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. One of her sisters married a future king and another married Queen Victoria’s youngest son. Emma’s father married again after her mother died in 1888, and the only child of that marriage, Emma’s half-brother Wolrad, was killed in action during World War I.

Emma’s siblings:

Emma had one half-brother from her father’s second marriage to Princess Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg:

Emma at 12 years old (1870); Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Emma’s family lived mostly at Arolsen Castle, a Baroque-style home built during 1713-1728. The Scottish philosopher, historian, and writer Thomas Carlyle was a great friend of Emma’s mother and a frequent visitor to Arolsen Castle. Carlyle described life at Arolsen Castle as a “pumpernickel court.” Emma had a Lutheran education from a very liberal-minded pastor. Emma studied crafts, drawing, and French literature with her English governess. She traveled with her family to France, England, Italy, and Scandinavia. In an interview in 1929, Emma said that her mother was at the center of the family life and very active in her children’s education.

In 1877, Queen Sophie, the first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands died, and Willem was eager to marry again to ensure the future of the House of Orange. One of his three children (all sons), Prince Maurits, had died in 1850 and neither of the other two sons was married. King Willem’s reputation was not a good one. He had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. Queen Sophie had lived apart from him from 1855 until her death. Willem’s ministers had decisively rejected a marriage with a French opera singer and then two eligible princesses refused to marry him. At the suggestion of his only sister, he got in touch with the royal couple of Waldeck and Pyrmont, who had several marriageable daughters. In July 1878, Willem visited the family at their summer home where he met 23-year-old Princess Pauline and 20-year-old Princess Emma. His eyes first fell on Pauline, but soon he chose Emma and proposed to her. Willem was 61 years old, 41 years older than Emma. Emma had lessons in the Dutch language and history before her marriage because she wanted to come to her new country Dutch. The couple was married on January 7, 1879, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in Hesse, Germany. Emma had a positive influence on Willem and the marriage was extremely happy. The last decade of Willem’s life was the best years of his reign.

Willem and Emma; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In September 1879, Willem’s eldest son Prince Willem died, leaving only one son.  A year later Emma and Willem’s only child, a daughter, was born:

The Netherlands followed the Sem-Salic Law which allowed for female succession only if no male dynasts were alive. At the time of Wilhelmina’s birth, her half-brother Prince Alexander and the King’s uncle Prince Frederik were alive, so Wilhelmina was third in the line of succession. Prince Frederik died in 1881 and upon the death of Prince Alexander in 1884, Wilhelmina became the heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, and Emma was appointed to be Regent if Wilhelmina came to the throne before her majority.

Queen Emma and Princess Wilhelmina in June 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1888, King Willem’s health began to decline. When it became apparent that Willem could no longer reign, Emma was sworn in as Regent on November 20, 1890. Three days later King Willem III died and ten-year-old Wilhelmina became Queen. Emma took over as Regent for her daughter until Wilhelmina’s eighteenth birthday in 1898. Because a woman could not inherit by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at that time, it passed to a distant cousin Adolphe, Duke of Nassau who was also Queen Emma’s maternal uncle.

Emma and Wilhelmina in 1890; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Emma took her position of Regent seriously. She met personally with every government minister at least once every two weeks and strictly adhered to the rules of the constitutional monarchy. She was open to anyone who wanted to talk to her and insisted that she personally open and handle as much mail as possible. In addition to her administrative duties, Emma paid great attention to her daughter’s education. When Wilhelmina reached the age of 16, Emma considered her childhood over and Wilhelmina spent the next two years being prepped for her job as a reigning queen.

Emma and Wilhelmina in 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

As a reigning queen, the young Queen Wilhelmina insisted on making her own way and tried to resist any pressures from her mother. Occasionally, Wilhelmina had to rely on Emma’s extensive knowledge of protocol matters. Initially, the two queens lived together in Noordeinde Palace, but when Wilhelmina married, Emma retired to the Palace Lange Voorhout. Emma was active in the fight against tuberculosis, then the number one disease. She had lost her sister Sophie to tuberculosis.

In 1909, when Wilhelmina’s only child Juliana was born, planning for an unexpected regency during the minority of Juliana occurred. Wilhelmina’s husband Prince Hendrik (born Prince Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) was found unsuitable by the government to act as Regent. Those in the government had fond memories of Emma as Regent and Wilhelmina agreed. If Queen Wilhelmina died while her daughter was still in her minority, Emma would be Regent.

The royal family of the Netherlands in 1930. From left to right: Queen Mother Emma, Princess Juliana, Prince Hendrik, and Queen Wilhelmina; Credit – Wikipedia

Emma died on March 20, 1934, at the age of 75 from pneumonia. She first had a cold which developed into bronchitis and then because there were no antibiotics yet, the bronchitis developed into fatal pneumonia. Her remains were buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Sophie of Württemberg was the first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands. Sophie Friederike Mathilde was born in Ludwigsburg Palace in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on June 17, 1818. She was the youngest of the two daughters of first cousins King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. Before Sophie reached her first birthday, her mother died. A little more than a year later, Sophie’s father married another first cousin, Duchess Pauline of Württemberg. Sophie’s aunt Catharina of Württemberg, the wife of Jerome Bonaparte, helped raise Sophie.

Sophie had one sister:

  • Princess Marie of Württemberg (1816–1887); married Alfred, Count von Neipperg (no issue)

Sophie had three half-sisters and one half-brother from her father’s second marriage to Pauline of Württemberg:

King Wilhelm and Queen Pauline (above), Crown Prince Karl (center), Princesses Sophie (center left), Marie (center right), Catherine (bottom left) and Augusta (bottom right); Credit – Wikipedia

King Otto I of Greece was an early candidate as a husband for Sophie. However, Sophie’s father had no confidence in the newly established Greek monarchy and Willem, Prince of Orange (the future King Willem III of the Netherlands), eldest son of King Willem II of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Sophie’s maternal aunt, was chosen. Sophie met Willem for the first time in 1838 after both fathers had already agreed upon the marriage.

Willem fell in love with Sophie, but she saw nothing in him. She tried to resist the marriage, but it was in vain. Sophie’s father thought Willem was an excellent match for his daughter and Willem’s father did not want to abandon the commitment to the marriage. Willem’s father had personal reasons to persevere with the marriage of his son and Sophie. In 1814, he experienced a similar situation when Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom, broke off an engagement with him. King Willem II of the Netherlands did not want the House of Orange to experience the disgrace of a broken engagement again. Willem’s mother, Anna Pavlovna, was strongly opposed to the marriage of her son to the daughter of a sister she loathed. Once Sophie was married to Wilhelm, Anna Pavlova treated her daughter-in-law (and niece) with a complete lack of respect because she did not think Sophie was good enough for her son. Sophie and Willem were married on June 18, 1839, in Stuttgart and had three sons, all of whom had no children and predeceased their father:

Prince Maurits (left) with his brother Prince Wilhelm; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Alexander; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage of Sophie and Willem was ultimately unsuccessful. Willem had numerous extramarital affairs and had numerous illegitimate children. Sophie let him know that she thought him inferior to her and unfit to serve as king. She was convinced she could do better ruling the country as the regent. Sophie tried to divorce her husband, but because of national interests, this was impossible. In 1855, an agreement was made that Sophie would have her own quarters at Noordeinde Palace and that she would spend the summers at Huis ten Bosch Palace without her husband.

Sophie’s diaries and letters reveal she was well-read, empathetic, and highly intelligent. She corresponded with European scholars and statesmen and maintained close ties with Napoleon III with whom she shared relatives via her father’s sister Catharina, the wife of Jerome Bonaparte. She published articles in the prestigious journal “Revue des Deux Mondes”. Sophie’s letters to Lady Marian Dora Malet, originally written in English, were edited by Hella Haase and published under the title A Stranger in The Hague in 1989.

Queen Sophie in 1877, the year of her death; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 3, 1877, Queen Sophie died at the age of 58 at Huis ten Bosch Palace. Per her wishes, she was not embalmed and was buried in her wedding dress because she considered that her life had ended on the day she married. Her remains were buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

King Willem II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Willem II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem II, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (Willem Frederik George Lodewijk) was the eldest child of Willem I, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. He was born on December 6, 1792, at Noordeinde Palace, The Hague, Dutch Republic.

Willem had one brother and two sisters:

Willem in 1815; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem was the only one of his siblings to be born in their homeland. When he was two years old, his family was forced into exile when the French invaded and occupied the Dutch Republic during the Napoleonic Wars. Willem spent his childhood at the Prussian court where he received military training, and served in the Prussian Army. He then attended Oxford University in England. In 1811, he entered the British Army and was an aide-de-camp to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.  He was popular with the British troops who nicknamed him “Slender Billy.” Willem returned with his father to the Netherlands in 1813 after the French retreated following their defeat in the Battle of Leipzig. He served in the Allied Army after Napoleon’s escape from his exile in Elba. Willem took part in the Battle of Quatre Bras (June 16, 1815) and the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), where he was wounded. In 1815, he became the heir apparent to the Dutch throne with the title Prince of Orange when his father was proclaimed King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The injury to the Prince of Orange at Waterloo (1815); Credit – Wikipedia

From December 1813 – May 1814, Willem was engaged to Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom. Charlotte broke off the engagement, married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later King Leopold I of Belgium, and tragically died, along with her son, due to childbirth complications. Willem married Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia, youngest sister of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia, on February 21, 1816, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. The bride’s brother had arranged the marriage to foster good relations between Imperial Russia and the Netherlands.

Willem and Anna had five children:

Willem II and Anna Pavlovna with their family. From left to right: the future Willem III, Alexander, Willem II, Anna Paulovna, Sophie and Hendrik; Credit – Wikipedia

While Willem was heir to the throne, he was the defense minister in his father’s government. He stayed in the southern provinces in Brussels for six months of the year and in The Hague, the seat of government, for the other six months.  In 1829, Willem was appointed Vice President of the Council of State and Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In these positions, he was formally the chief adviser to his father. In 1830-1831, the Belgian Revolution resulted in the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. Willem came to the Dutch throne on October 7, 1840, when his father King Willem I abdicated due to constitutional changes he disagreed with, his anger over the loss of Belgium, and his desire to make a morganatic second marriage with Henriëtte d’Oultremont after the death of his wife Wilhelmine. King Willem II’s inauguration ceremony took place on November 28, 1840, in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

The inauguration of William II on 28 November 1840 by Nicolaas Pieneman; Credit – Wikipedia

During Willem II’s reign, the power of many monarchs diminished. The revolutions of 1848 and 1849, in which Louis-Philippe of France was deposed and other European monarchs were forced by violence to make concessions, made him fear for his throne. Willem decided to institute a more liberal government, believing it was better to grant reforms instead of having them imposed on him on less favorable terms later. Jokingly, Willem said he turned from conservative to liberal in one night. He chose a committee headed by the prominent liberal Johan Rudolf Thorbecke to create a new constitution that resulted in a constitutional monarchy.

On February 13, 1849, King Willem II addressed the new parliament for the first time. It was noted that he looked ill and his voice was weak. Willem decided to spend some time in his favorite town Tilburg. He said of Tilburg, “Here I can breathe freely and I feel happy” and he commissioned the construction of a palace, which would function as his country residence. On March 13, 1849, Willem said goodbye to his wife and drove in a carriage to Rotterdam to visit a steam yacht under construction. At the top of some stairs, he became confused, his boot became stuck in his cloak, and he fell.

Once Willem reached Tilburg, his health problems got worse. Willem was no longer able to concentrate on state papers. For two days, he was seriously short of breath. On March 17, 1849, Willem’s condition was very critical. Around three o’clock in the afternoon, Willem had such a severe attack of breathlessness that he jumped into his doctor’s arms. The king was put back into his chair, and then he died.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

King Willem II was buried at the Royal Crypt of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands. In February 1865, Queen Anna became seriously ill and subsequently died at The Hague on March 1, 1865. She remained Russian Orthodox her entire life and her funeral service was conducted according to her religion’s rites. Her remains are buried at the Royal Vault of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

Queen Anna Pavlovna as a widow, next to the bust of her husband King Willem II; Credit – Wikipedia

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Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of King Willem I of the Netherlands, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (Friederike Luise Wilhelmine) was born in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, on November 18, 1774. Her parents were  King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Wilhelmine had four brothers and two sisters:

Wilhelmine had one half-sister from her father’s first disastrous marriage to Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg:

Wilhelmine was called Mimi in the family and her sense of duty was influenced by her great-uncle King Friedrich II (the Great) of Prussia.  Her education included the ideas of the French philosopher Voltaire which were popular at the Prussian court and learning several languages. Wilhelmine was musically gifted and an excellent artist.

Wilhelmine in the 1790s; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 1, 1791, in the royal palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg,  Wilhelmine married her first cousin Prince Willem of Orange-Nassau (later King Willem I of the Netherlands), son of Willem V, Prince of Orange and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, the bride’s aunt. The wedding celebrations lasted seventeen days. The marriage was arranged as an alliance between Prussia and the House of Orange, but it was also a love match. After the marriage, the couple lived at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

The couple had four children:

The Napoleonic Wars disrupted Wilhelmine and Willem’s family life. The French invaded the Dutch Republic in 1795 and the family went into exile first in England and then in 1796 in Prussia where they lived until 1813. In 1806, Willem’s father died and he inherited the title Prince of Orange. After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, the French retreated all over Europe including from the Dutch Republic. On November 13, 1813, Willem returned to his homeland, landing only a few yards from the place where he had left with his father 18 years before. The provisional government offered Willem the title of King, which he refused, instead proclaiming himself Sovereign Prince. He was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, receiving that territory in return for trading his hereditary German lands to Prussia and the Duke of Nassau. When Napoleon escaped from Elba, his place of exile, Willem felt threatened. Urged on by the powers who met at the Congress of Vienna, Willem proclaimed the Netherlands a monarchy on March 16, 1815. After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his second exile, the Congress of Vienna formally confirmed Willem as the hereditary ruler of what was known as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

King Willem I of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

Wilhelmine was not successful in her role as Queen. While she still contributed generously to charities, the Dutch people thought her cold and distant as she only came in contact with family and her court ladies. In the now modern-day Belgium areas, Wilhelmine was ridiculed for her old-fashioned German style of dress. Wilhelmine and her court spent the summers at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the winters at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, or the Royal Palace of Laeken in Brussels (now in Belgium). Wilhelmine and Wilhelm traveled annually to Berlin, where they performed duties on behalf of Wilhelmine’s brother King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia.

Wilhelmine’s health worsened in 1820 and by 1829, she rarely appeared in public. Her condition was not helped by the tense relationship between her husband and her eldest son and by the 1830-1831 Belgian Revolution which resulted in the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.

Wilhelmine’s last trip was to Berlin in May-June 1837 for the christening of her grandson Prince Albert of Prussia, the son of her daughter Marianne. Despite her ill health, Wilhelmine was determined to make this trip. Beyond exhaustion upon her return, Wilhelmine spent the summer at Het Loo Palace. On October 4, 1837, Wilhelmine and her husband traveled to Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The trip greatly weakened Wilhelmine and her condition worsened. Queen Wilhelmine died on October 12, 1837, at the age of 63, with her family at her bedside. She was buried in the Royal Vault of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

King Willem I abdicated in 1840 due to constitutional changes he did not agree with, anger over the loss of Belgium, and his desire to make a morganatic second marriage with Henriëtte d’Oultremont after the death of Wilhelmine. He died in exile in Berlin on December 12, 1843. His remains were buried at the Royal Vault of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

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Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

photo © Susan Flantzer

photo © Susan Flantzer

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is one of the primary palaces of the Dutch monarchy. Owned by the Dutch State, it is one of three palaces placed at the disposal of the Sovereign (along with Noordeinde Palace and Huis ten Bosch). Located in central Amsterdam, the palace sits on Dam Square next to the Nieuwe Kerk.

While once a royal residence, today it is used by the Dutch Royal Family for official functions, such as the annual New Year receptions and award presentations, and is the site of the formal welcoming ceremony during State Visits from foreign Heads-of-State. It is also used during the abdications and accessions of the Dutch sovereigns and has been the site of many balcony appearances by the Royal Family. It also houses guest apartments for visiting Heads of State. When not in use by the Royal Family, the palace is open to the public and is the site of several exhibitions each year.

The old town hall, from a painting by Jan van Kessel. source: Wikipedia

Originally the Town Hall, the building was turned into a Royal Palace by Louis Napoleon who became King of Holland in 1808. Following his abdication, and Hollands’ annexation by France, it was used as a residence for the French Governor. In 1813, Willem Frederik of Orange (son of the last Stadholder Willem V) returned and declared himself Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, and eventually became King Willem I of the Netherlands. He returned the palace to the city but continued to use it for official functions, including the first State Visit in 1814, by Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

While King Willem I used the palace extensively, his two successors – Willem II and Willem III – used it just a few days each year during their reigns. Sitting empty for so long caused much criticism from the Dutch people and the government, which resulted in disagreements as to the actual ownership of the palace. It was eventually determined that the palace was legally owned by the City of Amsterdam. At the end of 1935, it was resolved to sell the building to the Dutch State, and designate that it be permanently at the disposal of the Sovereign. Queen Wilhelmina inaugurated the palace and used it as her winter residence in the last years of her reign.

Queen Juliana and Queen Beatrix used the Royal Palace primarily for official functions while living elsewhere (Soestdjik Palace and Huis ten Bosch, respectively). And King Willem-Alexander continues this tradition.

Queen Beatrix arriving at the abdication signing ceremony in the Moseszaal. source: Daily Mail

Queen Beatrix arriving at the abdication signing ceremony in the Moses Hall. source: Daily Mail

The Council Chamber, also known as the Moses Hall (Moseszaal), originally served as the meeting room of the city council when the palace was still the Town Hall. It was later used as a concert hall, and for the Council of State. It takes its name from several of the paintings depicting Moses which adorn the room. In 2013, the Moseszaal was the site of the abdication ceremony of Queen Beatrix, just as it was for Queen Juliana in 1980.

The Council Hall. photo © Susan Flantzer

The Citizens Hall. photo © Susan Flantzer

The Citizens Hall is the grand hall in the center of the palace.  At 120 feet in length, 60 feet in width and 90 feet in height, it is the largest and grandest room in the palace.  The marble floor features maps of the eastern and western hemispheres of the globe (seen in the above photo with low metal railings around them), detailing Amsterdam’s colonial influence. The current hemispheres were made in the mid-1700s, replacing earlier maps from the 1650s.  The Citizen’s Hall is often the site of palace exhibits and was the site of a reception following the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander in 2013.

Looking out onto the Balcony. photo © Susan Flantzer

Looking out onto the Balcony, overlooking Dam Square. photo © Susan Flantzer

The Balcony dates from 1808 when it was installed as part of the changes made to the palace by Louis Napoleon. It was later reduced to its current size and design. The former railings were removed and replaced with medallions featuring the gold lion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Overlooking Dam Square, the balcony is used by the Royal Family following significant events, such as royal weddings and the accession of a new sovereign.

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Learn more about the other Dutch Royal Residences here!

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Huis ten Bosch

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

source: Wikipedia/Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (National Cultural Heritage)

Huis ten Bosch

Huis ten Bosch, in The Hague, is one of the state-owned palaces placed at the disposal of the Dutch sovereign. Having served as a summer residence for much of its royal history, it became the primary residence of the sovereign during the reign of Queen Beatrix. A year after her abdication, she left Huis ten Bosch and now resides at Drakensteyn Castle, the home she has privately owned since 1959. In January 2019, after a period of extensive renovations, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima and their family formally took up residence at Huis ten Bosch.

Huis ten Bosch was built in 1645 to be a summer residence for the Stadholder Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange and his wife, Amalia, Countess of Solms-Braunfels. The first stone was laid on September 2, 1645 by Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia (born Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James VI/I of Scotland and England, and Princess Anne of Denmark). Following Frederik Hendrik’s death, his widow turned the palace into a mausoleum in his memory. The large central domed room – The Orange Hall – was decorated with artwork dedicated to the life and work of the Prince. Following Amalia’s death, the palace passed her daughters and was later sold to Prince William III, a grandson of Frederik Hendrik (and later King of England). He continued to use Huis ten Bosch as a summer palace and made many changes to the building as well as the gardens.

Following Willem III’s death in 1702, the palace became the property of King Friedrich I of Prussia but returned to the House of Orange-Nassau in 1732. Prince Willem IV made major renovations, extending the building by adding two large wings to the east and the west – the Hague Wing and the Wassenaar Wing.

After the French invasion in 1795, all the properties of the Stadholder were seized, becoming the property of the state – and much of the furniture and art from Huis ten Bosch was sold. Over the next 20 years, the palace was used for many different things – it served briefly as a prison following a coup in 1798, the east wing was rented out as a brothel, and it later housed the National Art Gallery, the predecessor of today’s Rijksmuseum. Louis Napoleon lived there briefly after being proclaimed King of Holland and is credited with much of the style with exists today.

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From 1815, with the proclamation of King Willem I of the Netherlands, the palace began to be used regularly as a summer residence of the Dutch royal family. Queen Wilhelmina used it during World War I (giving up her usual summer residence at Het Loo Palace), and again prior to fleeing the German invasion in 1940. The palace suffered significant damage during World War II and following the liberation, it was totally uninhabitable. Over the next 30 years, the palace underwent several significant restorations and was used sporadically for royal functions. It was not until August 10, 1981, that it returned to use as a royal residence when Queen Beatrix and her family moved in.

Today, just as during the reign of Queen Beatrix, Huis ten Bosch also serves as the site of many official functions. In 2014, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima hosted a large group of world leaders for The Nuclear Security Summit, which included an official dinner held in the Orange Hall (pictured below). The Orange Hall underwent a complete restoration in the late 1990s and continues to serve as the backdrop for many ceremonies and functions. Additionally, the Hague Wing of the palace is used as guest accommodations.

 

 

 

Learn more about the other Dutch Royal Residences here!

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Villa Eikenhorst

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

NL-eikenhorstVilla Eikenhorst

Located on the De Horsten estate in Wassenaar, about 10km from The Hague, Villa Eikenhorst served as the official residence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and their three daughters from 2003 until January 2019, when the family moved to Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.

The house was originally built between 1985-1987 for Princess Christina (the youngest daughter of Queen Juliana) and her husband, Jorge Guillermo. The couple lived there with their children until divorcing in 1996. After sitting empty for some time, the property was renovated and became the residence of the then-Prince of Orange in 2003. While primarily a private residence, The King and Queen occasionally host foreign visitors there as well as other official events.

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The De Horsten Estate comprises over 400 acres and is privately owned by the Royal Family. Its origins go back to 1838 and 1845 when Prince Frederik (a son of King Willem I) purchased three neighboring estates – Raephorst, Ter Horst, and Eikenhorst – to establish his own private hunting grounds. At his death, the property was inherited by his daughter Marie, Princess of Wied. In the early 1900s, she sold the property to Queen Wilhelmina, and it has since passed by inheritance to Queen Juliana and then to Queen Beatrix who is the current owner. Beatrix’s sister, Princess Margriet, holds the leasehold and building rights on the area which was originally the Raephorst estate.

 

Learn more about the other Dutch Royal Residences here!

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Noordeinde Palace

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

source: Wikipedia

Noordeinde Palace

Noordeinde Palace is the working palace of the Dutch monarchy and the site of the King’s offices. Owned by the State, it is one of three palaces placed at the Sovereign’s disposal (along with the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and Huis ten Bosch). The palace is used for official and state functions, as well as housing the offices of the Royal Court.

The palace began as a farmhouse which was converted into a residence in 1533. In 1591 it was leased (and later purchased) by the States of Holland for the widow and son of Willem the Silent, in recognition of his service to the nation. The son, Frederik Hendrik, enlarged the house significantly, naming it Oude Hof, and purchased much of the surrounding land. Following his death in 1647, and his wife’s death in 1675, the house sat empty for many years and eventually passed to his grandson, King Friedrich I of Prussia.

In 1754, King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) sold the palace to Stadholder Willem V, and his son, who would later become King Willem I of the Netherlands, took up residence in 1792. However, three years later, he was forced to flee during the French Revolutionary Wars, and the palace became the property of the State, which it remains today.

In 1813, Willem I returned to the Netherlands. As the constitution required that a summer and winter palace be provided for the sovereign, extensive renovations were made to the Oude Hof which then became the winter residence of King Willem I in 1817. Subsequent sovereigns used the palace sporadically – Willem II didn’t use it at all, while Willem III used it as his winter residence. It was Willem III who had the Royal Stables built in the palace gardens, and it was the birthplace of the future Queen Wilhelmina in 1890.

The Royal Archives. source: Wikipedia, Photo by Pauline van Till

Queen Emma, while serving as Regent, had the Royal Archives building built within the gardens. In 1901, the newly married Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik made Noordeinde their home and continued to use it until the German invasion in 1940. Following her return to the Netherlands after the war, she continued to use the palace occasionally but spent most of her time living at Het Loo Palace.

Just before Wilhelmina’s abdication in 1948, the central part of the palace was damaged by fire. Months later, when Queen Juliana ascended to the throne, she chose to keep her residence at Soestdijk Palace which had been her home since marrying in 1936. Instead, Noordeinde was used to house offices for the royal household.

From 1952 until 1976, the north wing of the palace housed the International Institute of Social Studies. In 1969, it was announced the future Queen Beatrix would, upon her accession, use Noordeinde as her offices and after the Institute relocated in 1976, the palace underwent seven years of extensive renovations.

Queen Beatrix hosting a State Dinner for King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. source: Dutch Royal House

Queen Beatrix hosting a State Dinner for King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. source: Dutch Royal House

In 1984, the palace was reopened as the working palace of the monarchy, housing Queen Beatrix’s offices as well as the Royal Court. It also became the site of many official and State functions, including many State dinners for visiting Heads-of-State.

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King Willem-Alexander has continued the tradition, maintaining his offices at Noordeinde while living elsewhere. It is at Noordeinde where the King meets with foreign ambassadors as well as holds many official and State functions.

 

Each year, on Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day, also known as Budget Day), the Sovereign travels by coach from Noordeinde Palace to open the Dutch Parliament and give the speech from the throne. Following their return to the palace, the Sovereign and members of the Royal House appear on the balcony overlooking the palace square to greet the crowds below.

Learn more about the other Dutch Royal Residences here!

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