Princess Helena of Nassau (german: Prinzessin Helene Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne von Nassau-Weilburg; 18 August 183127 October 1888) was a daughter of

William, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unt ...

, and consort of

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George Victor (14 January 1831 – 12 May 1893) was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont. He was born in Bad Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg- ...

Early life

Helena was born at

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 ...

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

. She was the ninth child of

(1792–1839), by his second wife

Princess Pauline of Württemberg Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(1810–1856), daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg. She was the half-sister of

Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

(then Hereditary Prince of Nassau). She was related to the Dutch Royal Family and also, distantly, to the British Royal Family through her father and mother, both were descendants of King George II of Great Britain.

Marriage and family

Princess Helena married on 26 September 1853 in

, son of

George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (german: Georg Friedrich Heinrich Fürst zu Waldeck und Pyrmont; 20 September 178915 May 1845) was Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont from 1813 to 1845. He was the son of George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmon ...

Children

They had seven children: *Princess Sophie Nikoline (27 July 1854 – 5 August 1869); died of tuberculosis at fifteen. * Princess Pauline (19 October 1855 – 3 July 1925) married

Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt , reign = 28 September 1890 –21 January 1919 , succession = Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt , successor = Viktor Adolf , predecessor = Ludwig Wilhelm , house = House of Bentheim and Steinfurt , spouse = Princess Pauline of Waldeck ...

. * Princess Marie (23 May 1857 – 30 April 1882) who married Prince William, later King

William II of Württemberg , spouse = , issue = Pauline, Princess of WiedPrince Ulrich , house = Württemberg , father = Prince Frederick of Württemberg , mother = Princess Catherine of Württemberg , birth_date = , birth_place = St ...

. * Princess Emma (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) who married King

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in ...

. The Dutch royal family exist of descendants from this marriage. * Princess Helena (17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922) who married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. * Prince Friedrich (20 January 1865 – 26 May 1946), last reigning prince of

Waldeck and Pyrmont The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and in 1 ...

, married Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe * Princess Elisabeth (6 September 1873 – 23 November 1961) married

Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (german: Alexander Ludwig Alfred Eberhard, Fürst & Graf zu Erbach-Schönberg; 12 September 1872 –18 October 1944) was the 2nd Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, eldest son of Gustav, 1st Prince of Erbach- ...

Grandchildren

Among her grandchildren were: * Pauline, Princess of Wied (1877–1965), the last senior member of the

House of Württemberg The House of Württemberg is a German dynasty and former royal family from Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors of modern Württemberg, which was then calle ...

. *

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

(1880–1962), queen regnant of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. * Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883–1981), vice-regal consort of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. * Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884–1954), the last reigning Duke of

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present- ...

. * Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1896–1967) * George Louis, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (1903–1971)

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: vol II page 337/347 *For My Grandchildren London, 1966, Athlone, HRH Princess Alice, Countess of, Reference: Page 41 part of biographical notes , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Helena Of Nassau, Princess 1831 births 1888 deaths People from Wiesbaden People from the Duchy of Nassau House of Nassau-Weilburg House of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princesses of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princesses of Nassau-Weilburg