Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau

Louise Henrietta of Nassau (Dutch: Louise Henriëtte van Nassau, German: Luise Henriette von Nassau; 7 December 1627 – 18 June 1667) was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of William I, Prince of Orange, "William the Silent", and an Electress of Brandenburg.

Luise Henriette of Nassau
Electress consort of Brandenburg
Duchess consort of Prussia
Born(1627-12-07)7 December 1627
the Hague
Died18 June 1667(1667-06-18) (aged 39)
Cölln
SpouseFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Issue
Detail		Charles, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg
Frederick I of Prussia
Louis
HouseOrange-Nassau
FatherFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange
MotherAmalia of Solms-Braunfels
Signature
Luise and her sisters
Luise Henriette of Nassau, 1643
Luise Henriette of Nassau as a statue.

Biography

Louise Henriëtte was born in The Hague, 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 of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel.

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. However, attempts to conclude an engagement with King Charles II of England came to nothing. Finally she was forced to marry Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688), "the Great Elector," at The Hague on 7 December 1646, her nineteenth birthday.

The Electorate of Brandenburg regarded this marriage as beneficial by reason of the connections with the Orange family it created in the hope of obtaining assistance for Brandenburg's struggle for influence in Pomerania.

Electress

The couple lived in Cleves for the first years of their marriage, but they moved to Brandenburg, Frederick William's seat, in 1648. During her marriage, Louise Henriëtte followed her spouse and traveled between The Hague, Königsberg, Berlin and Cleves on campaigns, inspections, war and battle fields in Poland and Denmark. She acted as her husband's political adviser and was described as a pragmatist. She managed, through correspondence with the Queen of Poland, Marie Louise Gonzaga, to make an alliance with Poland in exchange for the Polish recognition of Prussia as a province of Brandenburg. It was said of her : "Few Electresses had been allowed so much influence". Louise Henriëtte had a new castle in Dutch style built in Bötzow in 1650-52 and called it Oranienburg, which became the name for the entire town in 1653. She was also involved in the design and development of the Lustgarten in Berlin. In 1663, she installed the first porcelain cabinet in Europe. In 1665, she founded an orphanage with places for 24 children. She was described as truly kind and gentle with a sharp intellect: her advice was vital for her spouse, and their marriage was considered a role model. During time of war, she made great efforts to soften the damages upon society.

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

Children

With Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, she had six children.

Luise Henriette died in Berlin and was buried in the Berliner Dom.

Ancestry
Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau
Born: 7 December 1627 Died: 18 June 1667
German nobility
Vacant
Title last held by
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate		 Electress consort of Brandenburg
7 December 1646 – 18 June 1667		 Vacant
Title next held by
Sophia Dorothea of Holstein
Duchess consort of Prussia
7 December 1646 - 18 June 1667
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