Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate

Benedicta Henrietta of Hanover
Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Born	14 March 1652 Paris, France
Died	12 August 1730 (aged 78) Braunschweiger Schloss, Hanover, Germany
Spouse	John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Issue Detail	Duchess Anne Sophie Charlotte, Duchess of Modena Duchess Henriette Maria Wilhelmine, Holy Roman Empress
House	Hanover
Father	Edward, Prince Palatine
Mother	Anna Gonzaga

Princess Palatine Benedicta Henrietta (Benedicta Henrietta Philippina; 14 March 1652 – 12 August 1730) was a German princess, the third and youngest daughter of Prince Palatine Edward and his French wife, the political hostess Anna Gonzaga. Benedicta became the Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, or of Hanover, by her marriage to Duke John Frederick. She was an ancestor of Louis XVI of France and Philippe Égalité, as well as several European monarchs of the 21st century.

Early life

Born in Paris to the landless Prince Palatine Edward, Bénédicte Henriette's paternal grandparents were Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen. Her maternal grandparents were Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat and his French wife Catherine de Guise, daughter of Charles de Lorraine-Guise, Duke of Mayenne. She was the youngest of three daughters.

Bénédicte was reared by Louise de La Fayette, a courtier-turned-nun known as Sister Louise-Angélique.^[1]

Marriage and later life

She was married at the age of sixteen to a distant cousin, John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was the same age as her father, and childless. They were married on 30 November 1668. The union, which had been arranged by the French diplomatist Gourville^[2] produced four daughters.

John Frederick died in 1679 without a male heir, and the duchy of Brunswick was inherited by his Protestant younger brother, Ernest Augustus, the husband of Benedicta Henrietta's paternal aunt, Sophia of Hanover, and father of George I of Great Britain. After her husband's death, Benedicta returned to her native France and resided there with her sister, the princess of Condé.

She corresponded with Gottfried Leibniz.^[3] Benedicta died the age of 78, at Asnieres, her late sister's residence near Paris, on 12 August 1730.

Issue

• Anna Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (10 February 1670 – 24 March 1672), died in infancy;
• Charlotte Felizitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg (8 March 1671 – 29 September 1710), married Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena and had issue;
• Henriette Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg (9 March 1672 – 4 September 1757), never married;
• Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (21 April 1673 – 10 April 1742), married Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and had issue.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate

16. Louis VI, Elector Palatine               8. Frederick IV, Elector Palatine                       17. Elisabeth of Hesse               4. Frederick V, Elector Palatine                             18. William the Silent               9. Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau                       19. Charlotte of Bourbon               2. Prince Palatine Edward                                   20. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley               10. James I of England                       21. Mary, Queen of Scots               5. Elizabeth Stuart                             22. Frederick II of Denmark               11. Anne of Denmark                       23. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow               1. Princess Palatine Benedicta Henrietta                                         24. Federico II, Duke of Mantua               12. Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers                       25. Margaret Palaeologina               6. Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat                             26. Francis I of Cleves, 1st Duke of Nevers, Count of Rethel               13. Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers                       27. Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche               3. Anna Gonzaga                                   28. Francis, Duke of Guise               14. Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne                       29. Anna d'Este               7. Catherine de Lorraine-Guise-Mayenne                             30. Honorat II di Savoia, Count of Tende               15. Henriette di Savoia, Marquise de Villars                       31. Jeanne de Foix, vicomtesse de Castillon

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 14 March 1652 – 30 November 1668 Her Serene Highness Countess Palatine Benedicta of Simmern
• 30 November 1668 – 18 December 1679 Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg
• 18 December 1679 – 12 August 1730 Her Serene Highness The Dowager Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg

References

1. Bougaud, 258
2. Littell's living age, Volume 166
3. State papers and correspondence: illustrative of the social and political... By John Mitchell Kemble, p. 224

Sources

• Bougaud, Emile. St. Chantal and the Foundation of the Visitation. Vol. 2. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1895. Google Books. Web.