Princess Helena of Nassau (; 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 unti ...

, and consort of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Early life

Helena was born at

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

. She was the ninth child of

(1792–1839), by his second wife

Princess Pauline of Württemberg Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

(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 The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

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

to George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Children

Helena and George Victor 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. * Princess Marie (23 May 1857 – 30 April 1882) who married Prince William, later King William II of Württemberg. * Princess Emma (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) who married King

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch language, 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 ...

. Via this marriage, Helena is an ancestor of the Dutch royal family. * Princess Helen (17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922) who married

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (Leopold George Duncan Albert; 7 April 185328 March 1884) was the eighth child and youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow. He ...

. Via this marriage, Helena is an ancestor of the Swedish royal family. * Prince Friedrich (20 January 1865 – 26 May 1946), last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, married Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe * Princess Elisabeth (6 September 1873 – 23 November 1961) married Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg.

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 an uradel, ancient German nobility, German dynasty and former royal family of the Kingdom of Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors ...

. *

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest- ...

(1880–1962), queen regnant of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. *

Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline; 25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981) was a member of the British royal family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal, and one of the longest-lived Britis ...

(1883–1981), vice-regal consort of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. *

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 18846 March 1954) was at various points in his life a British prince, a German duke, and a Nazi politician. He was the last ruling duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the G ...

(1884–1954), the last reigning Duke of

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...

. * 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 Daughters of dukes Mothers of German monarchs