Henrietta Alexandrine Friederike Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (areas now part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) (30 October 1797 Palace Eremitage,

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital o ...

– 29 December 1829,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was the wife of

Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

. Her husband was a notable general of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

and victor of the

Battle of Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon I of France, Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrian Empire, Austrians under Archduke ...

against

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Family

Henrietta was the youngest daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife

Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg , title = Princess consort of Nassau-Weilburg , image = Louisa Isabella Alexandrina Augusta von Kirchberg (1772-1827). Echtgenote van Frederik Willem, vorst van Nassau-Weilburg, en schoonzuster van Augusta Maria Carolina van Nassau-W ...

. 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 (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 ...

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 ...

. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; german: link=no, Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-ele ...

and

Caroline of Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pa ...

Marriage

On 15 September/17 September 1815 in

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 Wester ...

, 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 , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father =Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia , religion =Roman Catholicism , succession1 = Grand Duke of Tuscany , reign1 =18 ...

and

Maria Louisa of Spain Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain ( Spanish: ''María Luisa'', German: ''Maria Ludovika''; 24 November 1745 – 15 May 1792) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the spouse of Leopold II, ...

. However he had been adopted and raised by his childless aunt

Marie Christine of Austria Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia; 13 May 1742 – 24 June 1798), was the fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Married in 1766 to Prince Albert of Saxony, the co ...

and her husband

Albert of Saxe-Teschen Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (11 July 1738, Moritzburg, Electorate of Saxony – 10 February 1822, Vienna) was a Saxon prince from the House of Wettin who married into the Habsburg imperial family. He was noted as an ar ...

. He was the heir to the Duchy of Teschen and would succeed in 1822. This marriage was a very happy one. She has been known as the person who popularized the christmas tree in Vienna after it was already introduced by Fanny von Arnstein in 1814 during the

Vienna Congress The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. 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 The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...

in the Capuchin Church. This was allowed by order of her brother-in-law

Emperor Francis I Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

, who said, "She dwelt among us when she was alive, and so she shall in death". Henrietta and Charles had seven children.

Issue

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henrietta Of Nassau-Weilburg 1797 births 1829 deaths People from Bayreuth House of Nassau-Weilburg House of Habsburg-Lorraine Duchesses of Teschen Austrian princesses Austrian Protestants Princesses of Nassau-Weilburg Burials at the Imperial Crypt Daughters of monarchs