250: Wilhelmina of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands (Part one)

The year 2024 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wilhelmina of Prussia, the first Queen of the Netherlands.

Wilhelmina of Prussia was born on 18 November 1774 as the daughter of the future King Frederick William II of Prussia and his second wife, Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was born during the reign of her great-uncle, King Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia. From her father’s first marriage to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, she had an elder half-sister, Princess Frederica Charlotte, who married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, in 1791. From the marriage to her mother, she had six siblings, of which one sister died young.

Wilhelmina was born in Potsdam and spent her youth in Berlin. We know she learned several languages and she was quite musical. Her mother took care of her religious education, but she was blamed for neglecting her children. One observer wrote. “Frederic [sic] William III. received the very worst of educations; so beyond all measure bad as only that of a crown Prince can be. His father troubled himself more about his illegitimate than his legitimate children. They were left to their mother. She, constantly embroiled with her finances, often did not see them for days together; they were therefore left to the care of their attendants and of their misanthropic Hofmeister Benisch.”¹

Her great-uncle was a significant influence on their family. Frederick lacked empathy for her father and grandmother, who also happened to be the sister of his own unhappy wife. He wrote to his sister Amelia, “I have here now the good old Princess of Prussia [Wilhelmina’s grandmother]. She’s quite a burden, and I wish she was already on her way back to Berlin. She and her son spread a cloud of boredom and distaste!”²

When it came to the education of Wilhelmina’s brother (the future King Frederick William III), he agreed with finding a governor, “provided one could find the right person – not easy – and did not hurry over the choice.”² Frederick was trying to raise an heir he could trust, but Wilhelmina was a girl and thus not important in the line of succession.

Wilhelmina met her future husband, the future King William I of the Netherlands, in 1787. He was her first cousin, as his mother, confusingly also named Wilhemina of Prussia, was the sister of her father. At the time, he was the Hereditary Prince of Orange, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands did not exist yet. His father, William V, Prince of Orange, was the Stadtholder of the United Provinces. He wrote to his father, “I believe her nature is like that of my sister, & You must admit, dear Father, that the comparison holds.”³ He wanted nothing more than to marry her.

The marriage was settled in the summer of 1789 when the elder Wilhelmina came to visit her brother’s court – he had acceded the throne in 1786. For a little while, William continued his military studies while the younger Wilhelmina (Mimi to her family) tried to learn Dutch.

It was initially supposed to be a double alliance – William was to marry Wilhelmina, while William’s sister Louise was to marry Wilhelmina’s brother, the future King Frederick William III. This second match failed, and Louise married Karl Georg August, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, in 1790, while Frederick William married Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1793. As they waited for the final permission to marry, William wrote to his father, “I am deeply sorry, my dearest Father, that You cannot be here to judge Your future daughter-in-law. I’m sure she will please you immensely. Her appearance and her entertaining conversation are infinitely pleasant. People also say endless good things about her character. You can be convinced, dear Father, that I am committed to earning by my conduct the benefit that You are now doing me, and I beg Your fatherly blessing upon me and – if You allow me to call it that now – my future wife.”⁴

He also wrote to his sister, commending how well Wilhelmina was doing with learning Dutch. He wrote, “I am convinced, dear sister, that you would be surprised if you heard my niece read and speak Dutch because she has almost no accent and pronounces the letter g very well.”⁵

The wedding finally took place on 1 October 1792. It turned out to be a busy season for weddings as Wilhelmina’s elder half-sister, Princess Frederica Charlotte, married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, on 29 September. William considered it his dress rehearsal as it was exactly the same ceremony he and Wilhelmina were having.

On the day of his wedding, William wrote to his father, “My dearest Father, when the courier who carries this letter leaves Berlin, I shall be married, so I have the honour of informing you that I am at the height of my desires, finding myself united by indissoluble ties to everything that is most lovable, sweet and best. May I have the honour of assuring you, my dearest Father, that I am very happy. The day before yesterday, we had a dress rehearsal in the persons of the Duk of Yorck [sic] and Princess Frederique, whose marriage has just taken place and was blessed the same way as ours.⁶

For two weeks, Berlin celebrated the weddings with gun salutes, dinners, parties and operas. On 18 October, William and Wilhelmina left Berlin and arrived in The Hague eleven days later, where more festivities were planned. The newlyweds moved into Noordeinde Palace, then still known as the “Oude Hof.” However, William was often absent due to his military obligations in Breda, and so Wilhelmina spent a lot of time with her namesake mother-in-law. This led to doubts with her mother-in-law as she thought Wilhelmina could be too weak and tender for her son. Things turned around in the summer of 1792 when Wilhelmina fell pregnant with her first child.

Part two coming soon.

1. Memoirs of the Queens of Prussia p.308
2. Frederick the Great: King of Prussia by David Fraser p.561
3. Koning Willem I by Jeroen Koch p.62
4. Koning Willem I by Jeroen Koch p.63
5. Koning Willem I by Jeroen Koch p.65
6. Correspondentie van de stadhouderlijke family 1777-1795 p.167-168