Landgravine Elisabeth Henriëtte von Hessen-Kassel (18 November 1661 – 7 July 1683) was the daughter of

William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (23 May 1629 – 16 July 1663), known as William the Just, was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1637 to 1663. Life Born in Kassel, he was the son of William V (whom he succeeded) and his wife Amalie Elisabeth ...

and

Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg (14 July 1623, Berlin – 26 June 1683, Schmalkalden) was Landgravine consort of Hesse-Kassel by marriage to William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and regent from 1663 until 1677 during the minority of her sons, W ...

(1623–1683) and electoral princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

through her marriage to

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

Biography

Elisabeth Henriëtte was born in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

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 ...

on 18 November 1661 to

. She was the youngest of seven; siblings included Queen Charlotte Amalie, William VII, Luise,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

, and George. She suffered from an unknown illness in 1677 that her mother treated with the milk cure, wherein a teenage Elisabeth suckled from a

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

for three weeks and eventually recovered. Years later, on 13 August 1679, she married her cousin, Frederick, Prince Elector of Brandenburg, in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

after his plan to marry a sister of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I fell through. They held court in

Köpenick Palace Schloss Köpenick ( en, Köpenick Palace) is a Baroque water palace of the Hohenzollern electors of Brandenburg which stands on an island in the Dahme River surrounded by an English-style park and gives its name to Köpenick, a district of Berl ...

in a district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. On 29 September 1680, Luise Dorothea Sophie, the couple's only child, was born. Luise Dorothea later married

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-K ...

, her first cousin, and became the electoral princess of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the L ...

before dying in childbirth in 1705 at age 25. Elisabeth Henriëtte died on 7 July 1683 at age 21 from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Frederick accused his stepmother

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cr ...

of poisoning her but this was found to be untrue via investigation. She is buried at

Berlin Cathedral The Berlin Cathedral (german: link=yes, Berliner Dom), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Evangelical church and dynastic tomb ( House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in centra ...

with Frederick and his second wife Sophia Charlotte.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse-Kassel, Elisabeth Henriette Of 1661 births 1683 deaths Elisabeth Henriette Elisabeth Henriette Burials at Berlin Cathedral Elisabeth Henriette Elisabeth Henriette Deaths from smallpox People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel