Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark

Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark
Portrait by August von der Embde, 1818
Landgravine consort of Hesse-Kassel Electress consort of Hesse
Tenure	1785 – 1820
Born	10 July 1747 Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	14 January 1820 (aged 72) Kassel, Germany
Spouse	William I, Elector of Hesse
Issue	Maria Frederica, Duchess of Anhalt-Bernburg Caroline Amalie, Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick William II, Elector of Hesse
Full name Danish: Vilhelmina Caroline
House	Oldenburg
Father	Frederick V of Denmark
Mother	Louise of Great Britain

Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark (Danish: Vilhelmina Karoline, German: Wilhelmina Karolina) (10 July 1747 in Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen – 14 January 1820 in Kassel, was the Electress of Hesse-Kassel.

Biography

Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark, electress of Hesse-Kassel.

She was one of the daughters of King Frederick V of Denmark (1723–1766), and his first wife Louise (1724–1751), daughter of King George II of Great Britain.

At Christiansborg Palace on 1 September 1764 she married Prince William of Hesse, Count of Hanau, one of the wealthiest rulers of the period. Wilhelmina and William had grown up together and played together as children, as William had been evacuated to the Danish court during the Seven Years' War (1755–63), and it was decided early on that they should marry when they became adults. The couple settled in Hanau.

William IX, his wife, Wilhelmine Caroline of Denmark, and their children, Wilhelm, Friederika and Caroline. Painting by Wilhelm Böttner, 1791.

William succeeded in 1785 as Landgrave William IX of Hesse and in 1803 was raised to the rank of Elector of Hesse-Kassel as William I. The marriage was unhappy: her spouse was unfaithful and had many lovers, notably Karoline von Schlotheim, whom he had appointed Countess of Hessenstein. Caroline herself was described as beautiful, distant, kind and sympathetic; in 1804, she still spoke Danish without accent and had a strong attachment to her birth country.

In 1806, Hesse was occupied by France. Her spouse and son fled to her brother-in-law Charles of Hesse in Schleswig, but she remained until a French governor was installed, after which she moved to her daughter Amalie in Gotha.^[1] She spent the duration of the Kingdom of Westphalia (1806–13) in exile, among other places in Schleswig and in Prague. In 1813, the spouses returned to Kassel.

Issue

• Landgravine Maria Frederica (1768–1839), married Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg
• Landgravine Karoline Amalie (1771–1848), married Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
• Frederick (1772–1784)
• William II (1777–1847)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark

16. Christian V of Denmark               8. Frederick IV of Denmark                       17. Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel               4. Christian VI of Denmark                             18. Duke Gustav Adolf of Mecklenburg-Güstrow               9. Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow                       19. Princess Magdalene Sibylle of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp               2. Frederick V of Denmark                                   20. Margrave Georg Albrecht of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               10. Margrave Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach                       21. Princess Marie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg               5. Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach                             22. Count Albert Frederick of Wolfstein               11. Countess Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein                       23. Sophia Louise of Castell-Remlingen               1. Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway                                         24. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover               12. George I of Great Britain                       25. Countess Palatine Sophia of Simmern               6. George II of Great Britain                             26. George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               13. Sophia Dorothea of Celle                       27. Eleonore Desmier d'Olbreuse               3. Louise of Great Britain                                   28. Albrecht V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach               14. Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach                       29. Countess Sophia Margaret of Oettingen-Oettingen               7. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach                             30. John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach               15. Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach                       31. Countess Johanetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein

References

• Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XVIII. Bind. Ubbe - Wimpffen(in Danish)

Notes

1. Charlottas, Hedvig Elisabeth (1936) [1800–1806]. af Klercker, Cecilia, ed. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok [The diary of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte] (in Swedish). VII 1800-1806. Translated by Cecilia af Klercker. Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 476. OCLC 14111333. (search for all versions on WorldCat)