Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau (''Wilhelmine Carolina''; 28 February 1743 – 6 May 1787)
was a Dutch regent. She was the daughter of
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1747 until his death in 1751. During his whole l ...
,
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of the Netherlands, and
Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
. She was regent of the Netherlands from 1765 until 1766 during the minority of her brother,
William V William V may refer to:
*William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030)
*William V of Montpellier (1075–1121)
*William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191)
*William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181)
*William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361)
*William V, ...
.
Life
Princess Carolina was born in
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
,
the eldest daughter of
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1747 until his death in 1751. During his whole l ...
,
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of the Netherlands, and
Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
. In 1747, it was declared that the position of stadtholder could be inherited by females, thus making the young Princess Carolina the
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the position of stadtholder. However, in 1748, a male heir,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, was born to her parents, thus displacing her and putting her second in line to the position. She was given a good education in music.
Princess Carolina's father died in 1751, making her three-year-old brother William V of Orange. At that point, her mother was appointed
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. Her marriage to Charles Christian of Nassau was discussed in 1758, but because of her position as the heir after her brother, her marriage was delayed by the government as well as by British monarch, who wished to discuss potential complications. In 1759, her mother died, and William V was still just ten years old. Then, Princess Carolina's paternal grandmother,
Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Dutch: ''Maria Louise''
, house =Hesse-Kassel
, father = Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
, mother =Princess Maria Amalia of Courland
, birth_date =
, birth_place =Kassel
, death_date ...
, was made regent. In 1760, Carolina finally married Charles Christian. Because of her position as the heir of her brother, the couple lived in The Hague at the
Korte Voorhout Korte may refer to:
*Korte (surname)
*Korte, Izola, a village in the Municipality of Izola, southeastern Slovenia (the Littoral region)
*The Korte Company
The Korte Company, founded in 1958, specializes in design-build, construction management a ...
and her spouse was appointed colonel in the Dutch army.
Her grandmother Marie Louise ruled until 1765, when she died. William V was now seventeen, but that was still not old enough to rule on his own, as he was legally a minor until his 18th birthday. So, Princess Carolina, being a legal adult, closest senior relative and the heir of the ruler, was therefore made regent. She ruled until 1766, when William V turned eighteen. Her rule was short and not remembered for much else than for the fact that she invited
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
to perform in 1765.
[Frans Willem Lantink, Carolina van Oranje-Nassau, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/CarolinaWilhelmina 9/08/2017/ref>
After her brother married and started to have children, Princess Carolina, now further and further away from the succession line, left for Germany. When her spouse served as the Dutch Governor of Maastricht in 1773-1784, she often lived with him there. Outside of her short regency, she never involved much in the political affairs of The Netherlands, and was occupied with constant child births.]
She died 6 May 1787 in Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Kir ...
, aged 44.
Family
On 5 March 1760 in The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, during the regency of her grandmother Dowager Princess Marie Luise, Princess Carolina married Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 16 January 1735 – Münster-Dreissen, near Kirchheim, 28 November 1788), till 1753 Count of Nassau-Weilburg, was the first ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg between 1753 and 17 ...
. She was the only grandchild of George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
who was married in his lifetime. They had fifteen children, seven of whom survived to adulthood:
* Georg Wilhelm, Hereditary Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, 18 December 1760 – Honselaarsdijk, 27 May 1762)
* Wilhelm Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 12 December 1761 – Kirchheim, 16 April/26 April 1770)
* Princess Maria of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 5 February 1764 – Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...
, 25 January 1802). A nun in Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...
and Herford
Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford.
Geography
...
.
* Princess Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 28 September 1765 – Greiz
Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river ''White Elster''.
Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürstl ...
, 10 October 1837), married in Kirchheim on 9 January 1786 Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz
Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: link=no, Heinrich XIII Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 16 February 174729 January 1817) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1800 to 1817.
Early life
Heinrich XIII was born at Greiz, Reuss, third child of Heinri ...
(Greiz, 16 February 1747 – Greiz, 29 January 1817), and had issue:
** Prince Heinrich XVIII Reuss of Greiz (31 March 1787 – 31 March 1787), the only grandchild of Princess Carolina who was born in her lifetime.
** Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: Heinrich XIX Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 1 March 179031 October 1836) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1817 to 1836.
Early life
Heinrich XIX was born at Offenbach, Grand Duchy of Hesse, elder surviving son ...
(1 March 1790 – 31 October 1836), married in 1822 to Princess Gasparine of Rohan-Rochefort, had issue.
** Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz (german: Heinrich XX Fürst Reuß zu Greiz; 29 June 17948 November 1859) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1836 to 1859.
Early life
Heinrich XX was born at Offenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, younger surviv ...
(29 June 1794 – 8 November 1859), married firstly in 1834 to Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, no issue, Princess Sophie died in 1838; Married secondly in 1839 to Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and ...
, had issue.
* Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (25 October 1768, The Hague – 9 January 1816, Weilburg) was a ruler of Nassau-Weilburg. He was created Prince of Nassau and reigned jointly with his cousin, Prince Frederick Augustus of Nassau-Usin ...
(25 October 1768, The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
– 9 January 1816).
* Princess Karoline of Nassau-Weilburg (Kirchheim, 14 February 1770 – Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, 8 July 1828), married in Kirchheim on 4 September 1787 Karl Ludwig, Prince of Wied-Runkel (Dierdorf
Dierdorf is a town in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Westerwald, approx. 20 km northeast of Neuwied, and 20 km north of Koblenz.
Dierdorf is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("colle ...
, 9 September 1763 – Dierdorf, 9 March 1824), without issue
* Prince Karl Ludwig of Nassau-Weilburg (Kirchheim, 19 July 1772 – Kirchheim, 27 July 1772)
* Prince Karl Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg (Kirchheim, 1 May 1775 – Weilburg, 11 May 1807), unmarried and without issue
* Princess Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg (Kirchheim, 7 August 1776 – Schaumburg
Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...
, 19 February 1841), married firstly in Weilburg on 29 October 1793 Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
Victor II Karl Frederick of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (Schaumburg, 2 November 1767Schaumburg, 22 April 1812), was a German prince of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Bernburg branch and a ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schau ...
, and had issue, and married secondly in Schaumburg on 15 February 1813 Friedrich, Baron von Stein-Liebenstein zu Barchfeld (14 February 1777 – 4 December 1849), and had issue
* Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg
Princess Henriëtte of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (22 April 1780, in Kirchheimbolanden – 2 January 1857, in Kirchheim unter Teck) was a German duchess. She was a daughter of Prince Charles Christian and Carolina of Orange-Nassau, daught ...
(22 April 1780 – 2 January 1857). Married Duke Louis of Württemberg
Duke Ludwig Friedrich Alexander of Württemberg (; 30 August 1756, in Treptow an der Rega20 September 1817, in Kirchheim unter Teck) was the second son of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (1732–1797) and Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Bra ...
, second son of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich may refer to:
Names
*Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich''
*Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich''
Other
*Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
.
* Prince Karl of Nassau-Weilburg (1784 – shortly thereafter)
* Four nameless, stillborn children (1767, 1778, 1779, 1785)
Ancestry
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carolina Of Orange-Nassau, Princess
1743 births
1787 deaths
House of Orange-Nassau
18th-century women rulers
House of Nassau-Weilburg
People from Leeuwarden
Princesses of Nassau-Weilburg
Princesses of Orange-Nassau