, house =

Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. ...

, father = Karl Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Usingen , mother =

Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (22 May 1734 – 8 May 1810) was a German Imperial countess. By birth, she was member of the House of Leiningen and by marriage member of the House of Nassau. Early life She was born in Hei ...

, birth_date = , birth_place = Biebrich,

, death_date = , death_place =Rumpenheim,

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 ...

Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen (german: Prinzessin Karoline Polyxena von Nassau-Usingen; 4 April 1762–17 August 1823) was the elder daughter of Karl Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Usingen, and wife of Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel.

Early life

Caroline was born at Biebrich,

the second child and first daughter of Karl Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Usingen (1735–1803), and his wife,

(1734–1810), daughter of Christian Karl Reinhard, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim. Caroline, via her mother's roots among the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

lords of Leiningen, was a cousin of the Danish aristocrat, the

Duke of Augustenborg The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg () was a branch of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg of the House of Oldenburg. The line descended from Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. Like all of the secondary ...

, as both were direct descendants of the important Danish and Sleswicker magnate and statesman

Frederik Ahlefeldt Count Frederik of Ahlefeldt-Rixingen (; 1623 in Søgård – 7 July 1686, in Copenhagen) was a Danish landowner and statesman. By birth member of the House of Ahlefeldt, he was the first reigning Count of Rixingen. He was also Grand Chancellor ...

. This Danish connection played a role in Caroline's marriage.

Marriage and family

Caroline married on 2 December 1786 in Biebrich to Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1747–1837), youngest child of

Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Frederick II (german: Landgraf Friedrich II von Hessen-Kassel) (14 August 1720 – 31 October 1785) was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) from 1760 to 1785. He ruled as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers ( call ...

and Princess Mary of Great Britain, 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 ...

.Richard Glanville-Brown, online , Richard Glanville-Brown (RR 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada), downloaded 17 August 2005. The Landgrave and Prince Frederik was born a German (Hessian) aristocrat, a cadet son of a Landesfürstliche house, but had lived since his youth in Denmark, as had his two elder brothers. Frederik's two elder brothers married daughters of the deceased King of Norway and Denmark. However, there was no Danish royal daughter left to marry the youngest boy, Frederik, so he married a cousin of the Duke of Augustenborg, being Caroline of Nassau. Frederik was an infantry general in Danish service. They had eight children: *

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 ...

(24 December 1787–5 September 1867), married Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789–1864) and was the father of

Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

(wife of

Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

). * Karl Friedrich (9 March 1789–10 September 1802) * Friedrich Wilhelm (24 April 1790–25 October 1876) * Ludwig Karl (12 November 1791–12 May 1800) * Georg Karl (14 January 1793–4 March 1881) * Luise Karoline Marie Friederike (9 April 1794–16 March 1881) * Marie Wilhelmine Friederike (21 January 1796–30 December 1880), married Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1779–1860) * Augusta Wilhelmine Luise (25 July 1797–6 April 1889), married

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, (Adolphus Frederick; 24 February 1774 – 8 July 1850) was the tenth child and seventh son of the British king George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 18 ...

(1774–1850) and was the maternal grandmother of

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King- ...

(wife of

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*L'Allemagne dynastique, Huberty, Giraud, Magdelaine, Reference: vol III page 427 *The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C. * Europäische Stammtafeln, Band I, Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven, 1975, Isenburg, W. K. Prinz von {{DEFAULTSORT:Caroline Of Nassau-Usingen, Princess 1762 births 1823 deaths 18th-century German people 18th-century German women 19th-century German people 19th-century German women German princesses House of Hesse-Kassel House of Nassau House of Nassau-Weilburg Landgravines of Hesse-Kassel Royal reburials Daughters of monarchs