The Walloon Church in Delft – Portuguese ‘Princesses’ in a Dutch church




Photo by Moniek Bloks

The Walloon Church in Delft is attached to a far more famous building – the Prinsenhof where William, Prince of Orange was assassinated.

Mauritia Eleonora (public domain)

Before this, it was part of a convent and used as a court chapel by the Prince of Orange and his family. Louise Juliana, William’s first daughter with Charlotte of Bourbon, was baptised there.

 

It wasn’t until renovations between 1950-1962 that a tombstone was uncovered with the arms of Nassau and of the Portuguese royal house. It turned out that five of William’s grandchildren were buried there. They are the children of William’s daughter Emilia who married a Portuguese pretender to the throne Manuel de Portugal. Their son Manuel António of Portugal is the only mentioned by name in the church while four of his sisters are also buried there. They are Emilia Louise, Anna Louise, Mauritia Eleonora en Sabina Delphica. Only Mauritia Eleonora married but her marriage to  George Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Siegen remained childless. Unfortunately not much is known of any of the sisters. Of the two sisters not buried in Delft, only one other married but Maria Belgica’s marriage to Colonel Theodor Croll was deemed unworthy of her and the couple divorced after having several children.

The Walloon Church can be visited as part of the Prinsenhof.






About Moniek Bloks 2851 Articles
My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. I began this website in 2013 because I wanted to share these women's amazing stories.

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