Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont | |
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Queen consort of the Netherlands; Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg |
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Emma as Queen Mother | |
Tenure | 1879–1890 |
Spouse | William III of the Netherlands |
Issue | |
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands | |
Full name | |
Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia | |
House | House of Waldeck and Pyrmont House of Orange-Nassau |
Father | George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |
Mother | Princess Helena of Nassau |
Born | 2 August 1858 Arolsen Castle, Arolsen, Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire |
Died | 20 March 1934 Palace Lange Voorhout, The Hague, Netherlands |
(aged 75)
Burial | Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, Netherlands |
Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen consort of William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. An immensely popular member of the Dutch royal family, she also was Queen regent (1890–1898) and Queen Mother (1890–1934) of the Netherlands.
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Family
Emma was born as Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 2 August 1858 in Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Princess Helena of Nassau.
Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena Frederica, would become the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Her maternal grandparents were William, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Paul was a son of Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom.
Marriage
She married the elderly king, William III, in Arolsen on 7 January 1879, two years after the death of his first wife, Princess Sophie of Württemberg. The ageing, licentious king, once described as "the greatest debauchee of the age", had previously been rejected by Emma's sister Pauline and by Princess Thyra of Denmark.
With William, Emma had her only child, the future Queen Wilhelmina, on 31 August 1880. The king also had three sons from his first marriage, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom died before him and without leaving legitimate offspring.
Widowhood
When William died on 23 November 1890, Emma became regent for her underaged daughter, Wilhelmina, the late king's only surviving child. She would remain Queen regent until Wilhelmina's eighteenth birthday on 31 August 1898. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which could not be inherited by a woman at that time, passed to their distant cousin Adolf, Duke of Nassau (who was also Queen Emma's maternal uncle).
She was the 812th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa.
She died in The Hague in 1934, of complications from bronchitis at the age of 75, and was buried in Delft.
Titles
- Her Serene Highness Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1858–1879)[1]
- Her Majesty Queen Emma of the Netherlands, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1879–1890)[1]
- Her Majesty (Dowager) Queen Emma of the Netherlands, Queen Regent (1890–1898)[1][2]
- Her Majesty (Dowager) Queen Emma of the Netherlands, Queen Mother (1898–1934)[3]
Ancestry
References
- ^ a b c [1] (Parlement.nl)
- ^ Wet i.v.m. het overgaan van de Kroon op een Koningin (BWBR0001858)
- ^ Koningin Emma (1858-1934) (Dutch Royal House)
External links
- (Dutch) Koningin Emma (1858-1934) at the Dutch Royal House website
- Princely House of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Royal House of the Netherlands and Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Cadet branch of the House of Waldeck
Born: 2 August 1858 Died: 20 March 1934 |
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Royal titles | ||
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Vacant
Title last held by
Sophie of Württemberg |
Queen consort of the Netherlands 1879–1890 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg 1879–1890 |
Succeeded by Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau |
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