Luise Henriette of Nassau

Louise Henrietta of Nassau ( _nl. Louise Henriëtte van Nassau, _de. Luise Henriette von Nassau; The Hague, December 7 1627 – Berlin, June 18 1667) was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of William the Silent and Electress of Brandenburg.

Biography

Louise Henriëtte was the eldest daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. She grew up at the court of her father, the "stadtholder".

Marriage

Louise Henriëtte had to abandon her love for "Henri Charles de la Trémoille", Prince of Talmant, son of Henry de La Trémoille, as her mother had royal ambitions for her. But her attempt to conclude an engagement with Charles II of England came to nothing. Finally she was forced to marry Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688) at The Hague on December 7, 1646, her nineteenth birthday.

The couple lived in Kleve for the first years of their marriage, but they moved to Brandenburg, Frederick William's seat, in 1648.

The princess had a new castle in Dutch style built in Bötzow and called it Oranienburg. In 1653 the entire town of Bötzow was renamed Oranienburg.

A Protestant religious community known as the "Luise-Henrietten-Stift" in nearby Lehnin Abbey was named after her.

She was also involved in the design and development of the Lustgarten in Berlin.

Children

With Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg she had six children.
* William Henry (1648-1649)
* Charles (1655-1674)
* Frederick (1657-1713), the first King in Prussia
* Amalie (1656-1664)
* Henry (1664-1664)
* Louis (1666-1687)

She was buried in the Berliner Dom.

Ancestry

External links

* http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=129