Elisabeth of Orange-Nassau

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Elisabeth Flandrika of Orange-Nassau, later Duchess of Bouillon

Elisabeth Flandrika of Orange-Nassau (born March 26, 1577 in Middelburg , † September 3, 1642 in Sedan ) was Duchess of Bouillon by marriage to Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne and ruler of the independent principality of Sedan from 1623 to 1626 .

Life

Elisabeth was born as the daughter of Prince Wilhelm I of Orange-Nassau and his third wife Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier . After the murder of her father, Louise de Coligny , her stepmother, took care of Elisabeth Flandrika's upbringing. She traveled to Paris with Elisabeth and her sister Charlotte Brabantina in 1594 to look for marriage candidates for the princesses among the Huguenots in France.

After Henry IV converted to Catholicism at that time , many Huguenots also sought Protestant alliances abroad. Princess Elisabeth married Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon on April 15, 1595 in The Hague. Three years later, Elisabeth's sister married her husband's cousin, Claude de La Trémoille, duc de Thouars, in 1598 .

Wedding of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne with Elisabeth von Nassau on an engraving by Frans Hogenberg , 16th century.

Despite the considerable age difference between the couple, the Duchess of Bouillon's marriage was a happy one. After the wedding she moved to Sedan, the seat of the ducal family. Alone there a lot, she developed a keen interest in music. Elisabeth and all of her sisters were very close and were busy correspondence. Her sister Charlotte Brabantina lived with her as a widow since 1604. In the same year, her nephew, who would later become the Winter King Friedrich von der Pfalz , was trained at the court of Sedan, just like Georg Wilhelm , who later became Elector of Brandenburg and husband of her niece Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz .

During the absence of the duke and after his death, Elisabeth acted as regent of the principality of Sedan from 1623 to 1626. Under Elisabeth in France, which was becoming more and more Catholic, this became a gathering point for Huguenot refugees and an important Protestant and cultural center. To their great disappointment, her son and heir Fréderic-Maurice married a Catholic and became a Catholic himself. He sold bouillon to the Prince-Bishop of Liege and ceded Sedan to the French crown.

progeny

  • Louise (1596-1606)
  • Marie (1600–1665), ⚭ 1619 Henri de La Trémoille, duc de Thouars
  • Julienne Catherine (1604–1637), ⚭ 1627 François de La Rochefoucauld, comte de Roucy (1603–1680)
  • Fréderic-Maurice (1605–1652), Duke of Bouillon
  • Elisabeth (1606–1685), ⚭ 1619 Guy Aldonce de Durfort, marquis de Duras et de Lorges (1605–1665)
  • Henri (1611–1675), Marshal General of France
  • Henriette Catherine († 1677), ⚭ 1629 Amaury III. Gouyon, marquis de La Moussaye, comte de Quintin (1601–1674)
  • Charlotte († 1662)

literature

  • Olaf Mörke : Wilhelm von Oranien (1533–1584). Prince and "father" of the republic. 1st edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 3-17-017669-2 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Elisabeth of Orange-Nassau
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Elisabeth Flandrika of Orange-Nassau (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duchess of Bouillon and regent of the Principality of Sedan
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1577
PLACE OF BIRTH Middelburg
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1642
Place of death Sedan