Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
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Henrietta (Alexandrine Frederika Wilhelmine) of Nassau-Weilburg (30 October 1797 Palace Ermitage, near Bayreuth - 29 December 1829, Vienna) was the wife of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Her husband was a notable general of the Napoleonic Wars and victor of the Battle of Aspern-Essling against Napoleon I of France.
[edit] Family
Henrietta was the youngest daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768- 1816) and his wife Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her paternal grandparents were Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach.
[edit] Marriage
On 17 September 1815, Henrietta married Archduke Charles of Austria. The bride was almost eighteen years old and the groom forty-four. Her husband was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Louisa of Spain. However he had been adopted and raised by his childless aunt Marie Christine of Austria and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. He was the heir to the Duchy of Teschen and would succeed in 1822. This marriage was a very happy one.
Henrietta died young of scarlet fever, which she had caught while nursing her children through the same illness. She is the only Protestant buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church. This was allowed by order of her brother-in-law Emperor Francis I, who said, "She dwelt among us when she was alive, and so she shall in death".
Henrietta and Charles had seven children:
- Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (31 July 1816 - 8 August 1867). Married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies.
- Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen (3 August 1817 - 2 February 1895).
- Karl Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (29 July 1818 - 20 November 1874). Married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria.
- Archduke Frederick Ferdinand of Austria (14 May 1821 - 5 October 1847).
- Archduke Rudolph of Austria (25 September - 11 October 1822).
- Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria (10 September 1825 - 17 July 1915). She married Archduke Rainer of Austria, third son of Archduke Rainer of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano.
- Archduke Wilhelm of Austria (21 April 1827 - 29 July 1894).
