| Prince Henry | |||||
| House: | Orange-Nassau | ||||
| Father: | William II of the Netherlands | ||||
| Mother: | Anna Pavlovna of Russia | ||||
| Birth Date: | 13 June 1820 | ||||
| Birth Place: | Soestdijk Palace, Baarn | ||||
| Death Place: | Walferdange Castle, Walferdange | ||||
| Module: |
| ||||
Prince William Frederick Henry of the Netherlands (Dutch: Willem Frederik Hendrik; 13 June 1820 - 13 January 1879) was the third son of King William II of the Netherlands and his wife, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia. He was born at Soestdijk Palace.
Prince Henry became Governor of Luxembourg in 1850, in which capacity he served until his death in 1879. During his tenure, he worked with the government to launch the reactionary Coup of 1856, which consolidated power in the monarchy and the executive.[1] However, most of the changes were reversed by the new constitution issued in 1868 after the 1867 Luxembourg Crisis, during which the crown tried to sell the grand duchy to France.
Prince Henry was appointed an officer in the navy in his teens, and served many years, whence the sobriquet de Zeevaarder ("the Navigator"), after the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. He visited the Dutch East Indies in 1837, remaining there for seven months.
He married twice. On 9 May 1853, in Weimar, he married Amalia Maria da Gloria Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Ghent, 20 May 1830 - Walferdange Castle, 1 May 1872). On 24 August 1878, in Potsdam, he married Marie Elisabeth Louise Frederica of Prussia (Marmorpalais, 14 September 1855 - Schloss Albrechtsberg, 20 June 1888). Both marriages were childless. At the time of his death at Walferdange Castle from measles, he was third in line of succession to the Dutch throne.
Throughout his life, his title was His Royal Highness Prince Henry of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau.
The Prins Hendrikkade, a major street in Amsterdam, was named after Prince Henry following his death in 1879. A bust of Henry stands on the street.
The Prins Hendrik Stichting, a charity founded by Prince Henry in 1871 and named after him, provides care to sailors and their widows.[2]
In Luxembourg, an oak tree in Grünewald forest was planted and named after him following his death in 1879. The city of Luxembourg also has a street named after Henry, the Boulevard Prince-Henri.
He received the following orders and decorations:[3]
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Luxembourg: Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown
Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, 23 February 1850
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 25 March 1878[11]