Prince Hendrik of The Netherlands, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1876-1934)

[Marengo]

This thread is about Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst, cr Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands (Royal Highness) 6 Feb 1901 (Schwerin 19 Apr 1876-The Hague 3 Jul 1934)

Parents: Grand Duke Friedrich-Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Husband: Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau etc.

Children: Queen Juliana of The Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin etc.

Siblings: Duke Friedrich-Wilhelm and Duke Adolph of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Elisabeth of Oldenburg

Half-Siblings: Grand DUke Friedrich-Franz III, Duke Paul-Friedrich, Duke Johann-Albrecht, Duke Nicolaus, Duke Alexander, Duchess Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia

 

[Marengo]

Duke Hendrik Wladimir Albrecht Ernst of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (April 19, 1876 – July 3, 1934), Prince of the Netherlands, was the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
He was born in Schwerin, the youngest son of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his third wife, Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Heinrich was created Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands on February 6, 1901, and married Queen Wilhelmina on February 7, 1901, at The Hague.
The marriage was an unhappy one that did little more than meet its obligation by producing an heir. They had one child, Princess Juliana, in whose favor her mother abdicated on September 4, 1948.

 

[Marengo]

A wedding picture of Hendrik and Wilhelmina:

 

[Marengo]

Prince Hendrik received some popularity in The Netherlands because of his role with the ferry ´SS Berlin´ in 1907. More on that can be found on this page (in Dutch).

A postcard:

 

[Marengo]

A drawing marking his role

:

 

[Marengo]

Hendrik with his wife, celebrating their silver wedding:

 

[Marengo]

Hendrik with wife and daughter:

 

[Marengo]

He was the first member of the Dutch RF who wanted a white funeral as he saw his death as the birth of a new life:

 

[Marengo]

Prince Hendrik and his daughter Juliana:

 

[Marengo]

His standard, flag and coat-of-arms:

 

[Fürstin Taxis]

Could someone explain me this? Was he known for being violent or did the French caricaturist thought domestic violence is funny???

http://i.imgur.com/F5gsMUk.jpg

Kind of disturbed me tbh.

 

[SLV]

To my (limited) knowledge he was not abusive.

 

[Marengo]

No he wasn't. It seems like anti-German WWI propaganda to me; displaying the German prince as a brute.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I have the idea it had to do with the clashing idea of the Duke being the future Pater Familias vs the Queen being the Mater Patriae. In the double biography on the Queen (Part I - Wilhelmina, The Young Queen) one can read how the Government and Prime Minister Kuyper (a man with conservative norms, standards and values) apparently had problems with the intended union of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Heinrich and how to fit this in a male-dominated way of thinking.

Queen Wilhelmina was the last male agnate of the House Orange-Nassau (like her contemporary, the later Grand-Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, would be the last male agnate of the House Nassau). There were ideas in renaming the Royal House in that of Mecklenburg, Orange-Nassau-Mecklenburg, etc. because the Duke could not be denied planting his ancient royal tree firmly in Dutch soil... Prime Minister Kuyper, a very educated and smart man by the way, had remarkable oldfashioned ideas about the role of the man as head of the family, Heinrich as head of the Royal House, etc.

I have the idea this cartoon was about this theoretic conflict. I agree with the previous posters. If anyone was possibly ever abusive in this marriage, then it was Queen Wilhelmina, a very, very demanding lady and not at all the goodnatured, laid-back Duke Heinrich, who was in no any way an equal to the Queen. His famous quote "Ich bin nur das Gepäck" says it all. ("I am just the luggage").

 

[CyrilVladisla]

When Heinrich (Hendrik) married Wilhelmina, was there a possibility that the Dutch Royal House could have a new name: The House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

When Heinrich (Hendrik) married Wilhelmina, was there a possibility that the Dutch Royal House could have a new name: The House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin?

http://www.rd.nl/oud/konhuis/010523kon01.html

The government in 1900 wanted the future children of Wilhelmina and Hendrik to bear the surname of Orange-Nassau. The idea received criticism from the leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, Abraham Kuyper (see post 14), who thought that after the Queen married, she must be lowered to Duchess while her husband must become King and pass the name of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on to his children.

The Queen originally thought of the name of Orange-Mecklenburg because while she was in agreement that her future children were authorized to carry the name of Orange (as it was settled by a treaty in 1732 that Stadhouder Willem IV and his descendants, whether female or male, were authorized to carry the title and the coat of arms of Prince and Princess of Orange), she thought the name of Nassau could not descend through the female line.

She was persuaded to the contrary after attention was drawn to the Nassau family pact of 1736 stipulating that the last female could transfer her title to her husband and children on the condition that she married according to her position. The grand duke of Luxembourg finally approved as the head of the Luxembourg Nassaus.

The Royal Decree of February 8, 1901 settled that the future Princes and Princesses of the Netherlands who were descended from Queen Wilhelmina were to carry the surname of Orange Nassau and the surname of their father, in that order.


WIJ WILHELMINA, BIJ DE GRATIE GODS, KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN, PRINSES VAN ORANJE-NASSAU, ENZ., ENZ., ENZ.

Overwegende den wensch van Onzen beminden Gemaal en verlangende, dat de naam van het Geslacht, waaruit Wij zijn gesproten en waaraan voor Ons en voor het Nederlandsche Volk zoo dierbare herinneringen zijn verbonden, ook voor Onze nakomelingen behouden zal blijven; Op de voordracht van Onzen Minister van Justitie van den 2den Februari 1901, 1ste Afdeeling C, no. 15, Geheim; Hebben goedgevonden en verstaan:

toe te stemmen, dat de naam "ORANJE NASSAU" zal worden gedragen door alle Prinsen en Prinsessen der Nederlanden, Onze wettige nakomelingen, met en benevens den naam of namen, die Zij aan het Geslacht van Hunnen Vader ontleenen, met dien verstande, dat aan laatstbedoelden naam of namen zal voorafgaan de naam "ORANJE NASSAU", zoodat genoemde Prinsen en Prinsessen, onverminderd de titels die Hun uit anderen hoofde nog toekomen, zullen worden genoemd "Prins (Prinses) van Oranje Nassau Hertog (Hertogin) van MECKLENBURG".

Onze Minister van Justitie is belast met de uitvoering van dit besluit, dat op een nader te bepalen dag in het Staatsblad zal worden geplaatst.

Het Loo, den 8sten Februari 1901.

WILHELMINA.

De Minister van Justitie, CORT V.D. LINDEN.

 

[gerry]

http://www.rd.nl/oud/konhuis/010523kon01.html

The government in 1900 wanted the future children of Wilhelmina and Hendrik to bear the surname of Orange-Nassau. The idea received criticism from the leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, Abraham Kuyper (see post 14), who thought that after the Queen married, she must be lowered to Duchess while her husband must become King and pass the name of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on to his children.

The Queen originally thought of the name of Orange-Mecklenburg because while she was in agreement that her future children were authorized to carry the name of Orange (as it was settled by a treaty in 1732 that Stadhouder Willem IV and his descendants, whether female or male, were authorized to carry the title and the coat of arms of Prince and Princess of Orange), she thought the name of Nassau could not descend through the female line.

She was persuaded to the contrary after attention was drawn to the Nassau family pact of 1736 stipulating that the last female could transfer her title to her husband and children on the condition that she married according to her position. The grand duke of Luxembourg finally approved as the head of the Luxembourg Nassaus.

The Royal Decree of February 8, 1901 settled that the future Princes and Princesses of the Netherlands who were descended from Queen Wilhelmina were to carry the surname of Orange Nassau and the surname of their father, in that order.


WIJ WILHELMINA, BIJ DE GRATIE GODS, KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN, PRINSES VAN ORANJE-NASSAU, ENZ., ENZ., ENZ.

Overwegende den wensch van Onzen beminden Gemaal en verlangende, dat de naam van het Geslacht, waaruit Wij zijn gesproten en waaraan voor Ons en voor het Nederlandsche Volk zoo dierbare herinneringen zijn verbonden, ook voor Onze nakomelingen behouden zal blijven; Op de voordracht van Onzen Minister van Justitie van den 2den Februari 1901, 1ste Afdeeling C, no. 15, Geheim; Hebben goedgevonden en verstaan:

toe te stemmen, dat de naam "ORANJE NASSAU" zal worden gedragen door alle Prinsen en Prinsessen der Nederlanden, Onze wettige nakomelingen, met en benevens den naam of namen, die Zij aan het Geslacht van Hunnen Vader ontleenen, met dien verstande, dat aan laatstbedoelden naam of namen zal voorafgaan de naam "ORANJE NASSAU", zoodat genoemde Prinsen en Prinsessen, onverminderd de titels die Hun uit anderen hoofde nog toekomen, zullen worden genoemd "Prins (Prinses) van Oranje Nassau Hertog (Hertogin) van MECKLENBURG".

Onze Minister van Justitie is belast met de uitvoering van dit besluit, dat op een nader te bepalen dag in het Staatsblad zal worden geplaatst.

Het Loo, den 8sten Februari 1901.

WILHELMINA.

De Minister van Justitie, CORT V.D. LINDEN.

From Abraham Kuyper's desk to Prince Henrik's brain....more than one hundred years later! See how times have changed...!

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Abraham Kuyper, the then Prime Minister, was the leader of the staunch calvinists with the same attitude to "papists" alike some contemporary politicians have toward Islam. Abraham Kuyper also had a very patriarchal view and he saw complications as the husband is head of a union in marriage and the wife should obey him: how to fix that when the wife was the Queen herself?

The original solution was better: make it the House of Orange indeed, otherwise there would be a "real" House of Nassau (Luxembourg) and a "fake" House of Nassau. But since in both the Netherlands as well in Luxembourg the Nassaus have become extinct, effectively the House of Nassau has become an adopted name like Windsor and Van België/De Belgique/Von Belgien are for Von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, like Grimaldi is for De Polignac, like Orange-Nassau is for Zur Lippe-Biesterfeld and Von Amsberg, like Nassau is for De Bourbon de Parme and like De Roumanie is for Von Hohenzollern.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Prince Hendrik arrived in Berlin, Germany in 1927