Stadholder Willem II (1626-1650) and Princess Mary Henrietta Stuart (1631-1660)

[Marengo]

This thread is about Prince Willem II of Orange, Stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel (The Hague May 27, 1626 – The Hague November 6, 1650), and Princess Mary Henrietta of Orange, born Princess of England (London 4 November 1631 – London 24 December 1660)

Parents Willem II: Prince Frederik-Hendrik of Orange, Stadholder of Holland, Zeeland etc. and Countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels

Parents Mary: King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Princess Henrietta Maria of France

Son William II and Mary: Willem III, Prince of Orange, King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Siblings Willem II: Kuerfuerstin Louise-Henriette of Brandenburg, Princess Henriëtte Amalia, Princess Eisabeth and Princess Isabella Charlotte of Oranje-Nassau, Princess Albertina-Agnes of Nassau-Dietz, Duchess Henriette-Catharina of Anhalt-Dessau, Prince Hendrik-Lodewijk of Orange-Nassau, Princess Maria of Simmern

Siblings Mary: King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, King James II of England, Scotland and Ireland, Princess of France, Duchess of Orleans

[Marengo]

William II, Prince of Orange (May 27, 1626 – November 6, 1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from March 14, 1647 until his death.
William II, Prince of Orange, was the son of stadtholder Frederik Hendrik of Orange and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. William the Silent had been succeeded in the position of stadtholder and as military commander by his son Maurits of Nassau, who in turn was followed by his brother Frederick Henry. William II’s ancestors governed in conjunction with the States-General, an assembly made up of representatives of each of the seven provinces but usually dominated by the largest and wealthiest province, Holland.
On May 2, 1641 William married Mary Henrietta Stuart, the Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall Palace, London.

In 1648 he opposed acceptance of the Treaty of Münster, despite the fact that it recognized the independence of the Netherlands. Secretly, William opened his own negotiations with France with the goal of extending his own territory under a centralized government. In addition, he worked for the restoration of his brother-in-law, Charles II, to the throne of England.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

Princess Mary, The Princess Royal, Princess of Orange, and Countess of Nassau (4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660) was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria. She was the wife of William II, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau (27 May 1626–6 November 1650) and the mother of King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland (14 November 1650–8 May 1702). Mary Stuart or Mary of Orange, as she was also known, was the first daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.

Mary Henrietta Stuart was born at St. James's Palace, London. Charles I designated her Princess Royal in 1642, thus establishing the tradition that the eldest daughter of the British Sovereign might bear this title. The title came into being when Queen Henrietta Maria, the daughter of King Henri IV of France wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French king was styled (Madame Royale). Until that time, the eldest daughters of English and Scottish kings were variously titled Lady or Princess (The younger daughters of British Sovereigns were not consistently titled princesses of Great Britain and styled Royal Highness until the ascension of George I in 1714).

Her father wished the Princess Royal to marry a son of Philip IV, king of Spain, while her first cousin, Karl Ludwig, the Elector Palatine, was also a suitor for her hand. Both proposals fell through and she was bethrothed to Willem, the son and heir of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Stadholder of the United Provinces, and of Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. The marriage took place on 2 May 1641 at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall Palace, London, but was not consummated for several years due to the bride's young age. However, in 1642, Mary crossed over to Holland with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, and in 1644, as the daughter-in-law of the stadtholder, she began to take her place in public life.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

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The wedding:

[Marengo]

[Marengo]

A miniature of Willem II and Mary. i don´t know who the other lady is, maybe Princess Amalia or a second miniature of Mary?

[Marengo]

Mary Henrietta and her family. In the fist and the second painting she can be seen with her siblings while on the last one you can see King Charles I, Queen Henriette-Marie and their eldest son Charles:

[Marengo]

At the time of his death Willem II was trying to force Amsterdam on its knees by militairy measures. The general consensus is that he wwould probably have succeeded and the States General would have little choise but offering his some sort of souvereignity of the United Provinces. When he died the anti-orangists took their chance and removed the house of Orange from power. This stadholderless period lasted untill 1672, the disaster year. In the mean time Princess Amalia tried to defend the interest of her house as well as she could, she took charge of Willem III´s education which caused the already frosty relations with her daughter-in-law to become even more icy. Mary soon left for London, where her brother returned to the throne, leaving her adoptive country without much regret. The country was also happy to see her leave as they had little affection for this arrogant Stuart princess who put the interest of her family above the interest of The Dutch Provinces and of her son.

[Marengo]

Willem II as a child:..................................................................Mary:

[Marengo]

Willem II:

[Marengo]

And the last ones for now:

[Marengo]

Well, I am reading ´New Amsterdam´ by Russell Shorto and Prince Willem II doesn´t appear in a very positive light. He tried to expand his own power and wanted to create a monarchy. For that goal he opposed the treaty of Muenster, as in peacetime the armies would be smaller and the army was his base of power,. Instead he marched to Dordrecht where he failed, he had some members of the States General arrested at Slot Louvenstein and he had his army march to Amsterdam. As the city of Amsterdam discovered that the army was appraoching they could prepare themselves. The army then retreated as they wcould only have won during a surprise attack.

When Willem II heard the news he became furious, was shouting, threw his hat at the floor etc. He died shortly afterwards. He was only 24 and hungry for power, not as clever as his father or uncle IMHO. He died shortly afterwards from an illness.

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Now a question, are there any readable books about Willem II? I haven´t been able to find much, mostly books that contain an overview of the house of Orange, but nothing dedicated to him or his wife (who is intruiging too, esp. her relationship with Princess Amalia).

[EmpressRouge]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Parents Mary: King James I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Princess Henrietta Maria of France

I believe you made a typo and mean Charles I.

[Marengo]

You are correct, I am mixing the Jameses and the Charleses, James I was her grandfather, who married Anne of Denmark. I have corrected the error, thanks for pointing it out!

[Egmond Codfried]

Dear Marengo, thank you for your collection of Stuart portraits. I'am busy printing! You might have noticed my thread on the Stuarts. I have convinced myself that the little Moor on the portrait of the Princess of Orange, Maria Stuart, is not a person nor a servant in the ordinary sense, but a symbol of blue blood, which 'serves' her. He is offering her pearls which are somehow a symbol of her superiority. As her brother Charles II Stuart is described as 'a tall black man,'and 'swarthy' (Boswell) she could not be such a blindingly white woman.

[susan alicia]

is this a scientific art historical theory

Originally Posted by Egmond Codfried

Dear Marengo, thank you for your collection of Stuart portraits. I'am busy printing! You might have noticed my thread on the Stuarts.

that the little Moor on the portrait of the Princess of Orange, Maria Stuart, is not a person nor a servant in the ordinary sense, but a symbol of blue blood, which 'serves' her. He is offering her pearls which are somehow a symbol of her superiority. As her brother Charles II Stuart is described as 'a tall black man,'and 'swarthy' (boswell) she could not be such a blindingly white woman.

[Egmond Codfried]

Originally Posted by susan alicia

is this a scientific art historical theory

Yes, my dear. I have written books, articles, offering sources, bibliography etc.