Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
Encyclopedia
Henrietta Alexandrine Friederike Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (areas now part of Germany
) (30 October 1797 Palace Ermitage, Bayreuth – 29 December 1829, Vienna
) was the wife of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
. Her husband was a notable general of the Napoleonic Wars
and victor of the Battle of Aspern-Essling
against Napoleon I of France
.
. Her paternal grandparents were Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange
and Anne, Princess Royal
. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain
and Caroline of Ansbach
.
, Henrietta married Archduke Charles of Austria
. The bride was almost eighteen years old and the groom forty-four. Her husband was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
and Maria Louisa of Spain. However he had been adopted and raised by his childless aunt Marie Christine of Austria and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. He was the heir to the Duchy of Teschen and would succeed in 1822. This marriage was a very happy one.
Henrietta died young of scarlet fever, which she had caught while nursing her children through the same illness. She is the only Protestant buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church
. This was allowed by order of her brother-in-law Emperor Francis I
, who said, "She dwelt among us when she was alive, and so she shall in death".
Henrietta and Charles had seven children:
|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Issue
|-
|
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Name !! width=100px | Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes !!
|-
| Archduchess Maria Theresa
Queen of the Two Sicilies.
||
||1816-
1867
|| Married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Albrecht
Duke of Teschen
||
|| 1817-
1895
|| Married Princess Hildegard of Bavaria
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Karl Ferdinand
||
|| 1818-
1874
|| Married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Friedrich Ferdinand
Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy
||
|| 1821-
1847
|| Died unmarried
|-
| Archduke Rudolph
||
|| 1822-
1822
|| Died in childhood
|-
| Archduchess Maria Karoline
||
|| 1825-
1915
|| Married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria
, no issue
|-
| Archduke Wilhelm Franz
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
||
|| 1827-
1894
|| Died unmarried
|}
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) (30 October 1797 Palace Ermitage, Bayreuth – 29 December 1829, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) was the wife of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
. Her husband was a notable general of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and victor of the Battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
against Napoleon I of France
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
.
Family
Henrietta was the youngest daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of KirchbergBurgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
Louise Isabelle Alexandrine Auguste, Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg, Burgravine of Kirchberg, full German name: Luise Isabelle Alexandrine Auguste, Gräfin zu Sayn-Hachenburg, Burggräfin von Kirchberg was the Princess consort of Nassau-Weilburg through her...
. Her paternal grandparents were Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau , born Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, was the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands.-Early life:...
and Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Caroline of Ansbach. She was the spouse of William IV, Prince of Orange, the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands...
. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
and Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
.
Marriage
On 15 September/17 September 1815 in WeilburgWeilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
, Henrietta married Archduke Charles of Austria
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
. The bride was almost eighteen years old and the groom forty-four. Her husband was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
and Maria Louisa of Spain. However he had been adopted and raised by his childless aunt Marie Christine of Austria and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. He was the heir to the Duchy of Teschen and would succeed in 1822. This marriage was a very happy one.
Henrietta died young of scarlet fever, which she had caught while nursing her children through the same illness. She is the only Protestant buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church
Kapuzinerkirche
The Capuchin Church in Vienna is the church and monastery of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. It is located on the Neuer Markt square in the Innere Stadt, near the imperial Hofburg Palace. The official name is Church of St...
. This was allowed by order of her brother-in-law Emperor Francis I
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, who said, "She dwelt among us when she was alive, and so she shall in death".
Henrietta and Charles had seven children:
Issue
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% align="center"|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Issue
|-
|
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Name !! width=100px | Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes !!
|-
| Archduchess Maria Theresa
Queen of the Two Sicilies.
||
||1816-
1867
|| Married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie...
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Albrecht
Duke of Teschen
||
|| 1817-
1895
|| Married Princess Hildegard of Bavaria
Princess Hildegard of Bavaria
Princess Hildegard of Bavaria was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen....
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Karl Ferdinand
Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen was the second son of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, and the maternal grandfather of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.A son of the "hero of Aspern" he started a military career in Infantry Regiment 57 in Brno...
||
|| 1818-
1874
|| Married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Elisabeth Franziska Maria, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia ....
, had issue
|-
| Archduke Friedrich Ferdinand
Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy
||
|| 1821-
1847
|| Died unmarried
|-
| Archduke Rudolph
||
|| 1822-
1822
|| Died in childhood
|-
| Archduchess Maria Karoline
||
|| 1825-
1915
|| Married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria was an Austrian prime minister. He was a son of Archduke Rainer Joseph....
, no issue
|-
| Archduke Wilhelm Franz
Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria
Archduke Wilhelm Franz Karl of Austria-Teschen was an Archduke of Austria from the Habsburg dynasty.He was born in Vienna as the son of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg...
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
||
|| 1827-
1894
|| Died unmarried
|}