? Birth of Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands ?
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? Princess Wilhelmine was born in Potsdam, on 18th November 1774.
She was the fourth child of eight born to King Frederick William II of Prussia and Queen Frederica Louisa.
Very little is known about her youth, she was given a conventional education for a girl of her time and tutored in needlework and the arts, and described as pretty and sweet.
? On 1st October 1791, she married her cousin William of the Netherlands, son of Stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, in Berlin.
The marriage was arranged as a part of an alliance between the House of Orange and Prussia.
Luckily for the bride and groom, it was also a love match.
The young couple went to live at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.
? In 1795, the French invaded the Dutch Republic, and the family went into exile.
They first stayed in England, and from 1796 in Berlin.
Wilhelmine returned to The Hague at the beginning of 1814, and became Queen of the Netherlands in 1815.
? The court divided their time between The Hague, Brussels, Het Loo and Laeken.
Wilhelmine personally visited Berlin once a year until her death, where she participated in royal ceremonies.
? Queen Wilhelmine was modest and stayed in the background, she did not play any dominant role as queen.
She was beloved by her family, but was not a popular queen, and was criticised in The Netherlands for isolating the royal family.
The Belgians criticised her German fashion.
? Beginning in 1820, her health worsened, and after 1829, she was rarely seen in public.
She did, however, continue her trips to Berlin and visiting relatives.
She died at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague in 1837, aged 62, and is entombed in the New Church in Delft.
? Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands c. 1817.
Portrait by Joseph Paelinck
