by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022
Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia
Helena of Nassau was the first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne was born on August 18, 1831, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. She was the eldest of the three surviving children and the elder of the two surviving daughters of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Both Helena’s parents were descendants of King George II of Great Britain. Helena’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, and Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Helena had two surviving siblings:
- Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau (1832 – 1905), married Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina, Countess of Merenberg, daughter of the Russian author Alexander Pushkin, had three children
- Princess Sophia of Nassau (1836 – 1913), married King Oscar II of Sweden, had four sons, the Belgian, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish royal families descend from this marriage
Helena had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen including Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg:
- Princess Auguste of Nassau-Weilburg (born and died 1814)
- Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg (1815 – 1871), married Duke Peter of Oldenburg, had eight children
- Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1817 – 1905), married (1) married Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia who died in childbirth (2) Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, had five children including Wilhelm (Guillaume) IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- Prince Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg (1819 – 1823), died in childhood
- Prince Moritz of Nassau-Weilburg (1820 – 1850), unmarried
- Princess Marie of Nassau-Weilburg (1822 – 1824), died in childhood
- Prince Wilhelm Karl of Nassau-Weilburg (1823 – 1828), died in childhood
- Princess Marie of Nassau-Weilburg (1825 – 1902), married Hermann, Prince of Wied, had three children including Elisabeth who married King Carol I of Romania
Georg Viktor and Helena; Credit – Pinterest
On September 26, 1853, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the son of Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena.
Georg Viktor and Helena with their five elder daughters circa 1864; Credit – Wikipedia
Georg Viktor and Helena had six daughters and one son:
- Sophie of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1854 – 1869), died of tuberculosis at age fifteen
- Pauline of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1855 – 1925), married Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt, had eight children
- Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1857 – 1882), married the future King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, had two children, died in childbirth as did her third child
- Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1858 – 1934), married King Willem III of the Netherlands, had one child Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
- Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1861 – 1922), married the youngest son of Queen Victoria, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, had two children including Charles Edward, last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha whose daughter Sibylla married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, their son is King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1865 – 1946), married Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, had four children
- Elisabeth of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1873 – 1961) married Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, had four children
Helena focused on charitable work, chairing many charitable organizations, and involving her children in charitable work from a very young age. Her daughter Emma said of Helena, “Mother had a great talent for dealing with people, to do them justice. We daughters have tried to follow mother’s example, also in her social interest.”
Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com
Helena was in ill health for the last decade of her life. She died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried at the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.
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Works Cited
- Flantzer, Susan (2021) Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-viktor-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
- Helena av Nassau-Weilburg (2022) Wikipedia (Swedish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_av_Nassau-Weilburg (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
- Helene von Nassau (2021) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_von_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
- Princess Helena of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Helena_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
- William, Duke of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William,_Duke_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).