Sophia Henriette of Waldeck (3 August 1662,

Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, ''Bad'' being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and t ...

– 15 October 1702, Erbach) was a Princess of Waldeck by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

Life

Sophie Henriette was the daughter of Field Marshal

Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck (31 January 1620 – 19 November 1692) was a German and Dutch Field Marshal and, for the last three years of his life, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg). In 1641, Waldeck en ...

and his wife Countess Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Siegen (1626–1694). She married on 30 November 1680 in Arolsen with Duke

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

of Saxe-Hildburghausen, a friend and comrade of her father, with whom she lived in Arolsen until 1683. After the completion of the

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in Hildburghausen, the couple moved there. Sophie Henriette had a very close relationship with her eldest son Ernest Frederick I; she arranged his marriage to her first cousin once removed

Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach Sophia Albertine, Countess of Erbach-Erbach (30 July 1683, in Erbach – 4 September 1742, in Eisfeld), was Countess of Erbach-Erbach by birth and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen. From 1724 to 1728, she was Regent of Saxe-Hildbur ...

. Sophie Henriette died in 1702, ten days after her youngest son was born, before the wedding of Ernest Frederick and Sophia Albertine. She was the first person to be buried in the Royal Crypt in the Palace Church in Hildburghausen. Sophia Henriette's father died in 1692 leaving no male heirs. Waldeck-Eisenberg fell to the Waldeck-Wildungen line; the Lordship of

Culemborg Culemborg () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city had a population of 29,386 on 1 January 2022 and is situated just south of the Lek river. Direct train lines run from the railway station towards the cities of U ...

in the Netherlands was inherited by Sophia Henriette's older sister Louisa Anna (by marriage Countess of Erbach-Fürstenau), and after Louise's death in 1714 without surviving issue, by Sophia Henriette's son Ernest Frederick I, who sold it to the Dutch province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

in 1748.

Issue

Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (21 August 1681 in Gotha – 9 March 1724 in Hildburghausen), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was the eldest son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Countess Sophie Henriette of Wald ...

(b. Gotha, 21 August 1681 – d. Hildburghausen, 9 March 1724). # Sophie Charlotte (b. Arolsen, 23 December 1682 – d. Eisfeld, 20 April 1684). # Sophie Charlotte (b. Hildburghausen, 23 March 1685 – d. Hildburghausen, 4 June 1710). # Karl Wilhelm (b. Arolsen, 25 July 1686 – d. Arolsen, 2 April 1687). # Joseph Maria Frederick Wilhelm (b. Erbach, 5 October 1702 – d. Hildburghausen, 4 January 1787).

References

* Heinrich Ferdinand Schoeppl: ''Die Herzoge von Sachsen-Altenburg'', Bolzano, 1917, repreinted: Altenburg, 1992 * Dr. Rudolf Armin Human: ''Chronik der Stadt Hildburghausen'', Hildburghausen, 1886 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie Henriette of Waldeck House of Waldeck House of Saxe-Hildburghausen 1662 births 1702 deaths German countesses 17th-century German people German duchesses German princesses Daughters of monarchs