| Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau | |
|---|---|
| Portrait in 1790 | |
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| Tenure | 14 October 1790 – 20 September 1806 |
| Spouse | Karl Georg August of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
| Full name | |
| Frederika Luise Wilhelmine | |
| Father | William V, Prince of Orange |
| Mother | Wilhelmina of Prussia |
| Born | 28 November 1770 The Hague |
| Died | 15 October 1819 (aged 48) Amsterdam |
Princess Frederica Louise Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau (28 November 1770 – 15 October 1819) was a hereditary princess of Brunswick; married 14 October 1790 to Hereditary Prince Charles George August of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1766 – 20 September 1806). She was known in the family as "Loulou".
Frederica Louise Wilhelmina was the daughter of William V, Prince of Orange and Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange. Her marriage was arranged in 1790 as a gesture of grattitude to her father-in-law after he had assisted her parents against the Dutch rebellion in 1787. She had no issue and acted as a nurse to her consort, who was mentally restricted as well as blind.
The Swedish Princess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte described her, as well as her family, at the time of her visit in August, 1799:
Our cousin the Duke arrived immediately the next morning. He has won many victorys as a notable military man, are witty, litteral and a pleasant aquaitance but ceremonial beyond description. He is said to be quite strict, but a good father of the nation who attends to the needs of his people. After he left us, I visited the Dowager Duchess, the aunt of my consort. She is an agreable, highly educated and well respected lady, but now so old that she has almost lost her memory. From her I continued to the Duchess, sister to the King of England and a typical English woman. She looked very simple, like a vicar's wife, has I am sure many admirable qualities and are very respectable, but completely lacks manners. She makes the stranges questions without considering how difficult and unpleasant they can be. Both the hereditary princess as well as princess Augusta - sister of the sovereign Duke - came to her while I was there. The former are delightful, mild, loveable, witty and clever, not a beauty but still very pretty. In addition, she is said to be admirably kind to her boring consort. The princess Augusta are full of wit and energy and very funny. (....) The Duchess and the Princesses followed me to Richmond, the country villa of the Duchess a bit outside of the town. It was small and pretty with a beautiful little park, all after an English pattern. As she had the residence constructed herself, it amuses her to show it to others. (....)The sons of the Ducal couple are somewhat peculiar. The hereditary prince, chubby and fat, almost blind, strange and odd - if not to say an imbecill - attempts to imitate his father but only makes himself artificial and unpleasant. He talks contiunously, does not know what he says and is in all aspects unbearable. He is accommodating but a poor thing, loves his consort to the point of worship and is completely governed by her. The other son, Prince Georg, is the most ridiculous person imaginable, and so silly that he can never be left alone but is always acompanied by a courtier. The third son is also described as an original. I never saw him, as he served with his regiment. The fourth is the only normal one, but also torments his parents by his immoral behaviour.[1]
In 1806, her spouse died shortly before her father-in-law. The same year, the Duchy was invaded by France, and she left Brunswick for Switzerland with her mother.[2] She eventually joined her former husbands family in England. From 1814, she lived in the Netherlands, in the country estate Zorgvliet outside Haarlem nearby her mothers estate.