Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark and Norway (Danish: Vilhelmine Ernestine, German: Wilhelmine Ernestine) of Denmark (born 20 or 21 June 1650, died 22 or 23 April 1706) was an Electress Palatine. She was the third of five daughters of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Her mother's sister-in-law, Electress Sophia of Hanover, arranged a marriage between Wilhelmina Ernestine and Sophia's nephew Charles, the heir of the Electoral Palatinate. Unusually, this was not a wedding by proxy, but the groom was married to her in person on Sophie Amalienborg in Denmark on September 20, 1671. On August 14, the spouses left for Heidelberg with a large entourage of Danes. Wilhelmina Ernestine was granted a large dowry from Denmark, and she also received the villages and castles Germersheim and Oppenheim by her father-in-law.
The marriage was very unhappy: Charles had been forced to marry her by his father against his will and disliked the marriage from the beginning, and her shy behaviour and physical appearance - she was said to have been somewhat crippled - only widened the distance between them. In 1677, Charles' dislike had made her father-in-law consider serious plans of a divorce, although these plans were never realised. They had no children.
On 28 August 1680, they became Elector and Electress Palatine. The reign of her consort was marked by his dependency of favorites. The Elector died 26 May 1685, making her a widow. As a widow, she lived with her sister, Dowager Electress Anna Sophie of Saxony, at Castle Lichtenburg in Saxony.
| Preceded by Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel |
Electress Palatine 1680–1685 |
Succeeded by Elizabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt |
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