Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
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| Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of the Netherlands; Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg | |
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| Emma as Queen Mother | |
| Tenure | 1879–1890 |
| Spouse | William III of the Netherlands |
| Issue | |
| Wilhelmina of the Netherlands | |
| Full name | |
| Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia | |
| Father | George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |
| Mother | Princess Helena of Nassau |
| Born | 2 August 1858 Castle Arolsen, Arolsen, Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire |
| Died | 20 March 1934 (aged 75) Palace Lange Voorhout, The Hague, Netherlands |
| Burial | Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, Netherlands |
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen consort of William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. An immensely popular member of the Dutch royal family, she also was Queen regent (1890–1898) and Queen Mother (1890–1934) of The Netherlands.
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[edit] Family
Emma was born as Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 2 August 1858 in Castle Arolsen in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Helena, Princess of Nassau.
Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena Frederica, would become the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Her maternal grandparents were Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Paul was a son of Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom.
[edit] Marriage
She married the elderly king, William III, in Arolsen on 7 January 1879, two years after the death of his first wife, Princess Sophie of Württemberg. The ageing, licentious king, once described as "the greatest debauchee of the age", had previously been rejected by Emma's sister Pauline and by Princess Thyra of Denmark.
With William, Emma had her only child, the future Queen Wilhelmina, on 31 August 1880. The king also had three sons from his first marriage, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom died before him.
When William died on 23 November 1890, Emma became regent for her underaged daughter, Wilhelmina, the late king's only surviving child. She would remain Queen regent until Wilhelmina's eighteenth birthday on 31 August 1898. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which could not be inherited by a woman at that time, passed to their distant cousin Adolf, Duke of Nassau (who was also Queen Emma's maternal uncle).
She was the 812th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa.
She died in The Hague in 1934, of complications from bronchitis at the age of 75, and was buried in Delft.
[edit] Titles
- Her Serene Highness The Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1858–1879)
- Her Majesty The Queen of the Netherlands (1879–1890)
- Her Majesty Emma Queen Regent of the Netherlands (1890–1898)
- Her Majesty Emma Queen Mother of the Netherlands (1898–1934)
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont |
- (Dutch) Koningin Emma (1858-1934) at the Dutch Royal House website
- Princely House of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Royal House of the Netherlands and Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
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Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Born: 2 August 1858 Died: 20 March 1934 |
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| Dutch royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Sophie of Württemberg |
Queen Consort of the Netherlands 1879–1890 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
