| Wilhelmine Christine of Nassau-Siegen | |
| Countess Consort of Waldeck-Wildungen | |
| More: | no |
| Spouse: | Josias II of Waldeck-Wildungen |
| Issue: | |
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| Full Name: | Wilhelmine Christine Countess of Nassau-Siegen |
| Native Name: | Wilhelmine Christine Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen |
| Noble Family: | House of Nassau-Siegen |
| Father: | William of Nassau-Siegen |
| Mother: | Christiane of Erbach |
| Birth Name: | Wilhelmine Christine Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein |
| Birth Date: | 1629 |
| Christening Date: | 10 June 1629 |
| Christening Place: | Heusden |
| Death Date: | 22 January 1700 |
| Death Place: | Hildburghausen |
| Burial Date: | 27 January 1700 |
| Burial Place: | Saalfeld |
Countess Wilhelmine Christine of Nassau-Siegen (1629 – 22 January 1700), de|Wilhelmine Christine Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein, was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau, and through marriage Countess of .
Wilhelmine Christine was born in 1629[1] as the youngest daughter of Count William of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Christiane of Erbach.[2] [3] [4] The exact date and place of birth of Wilhelmine Christine are unknown; she was baptised on 10 June 1629 in Heusden,[5] the city of which her father had been governor since 1626.[6] [7]
Count William Frederick of Nassau-Diez, the stadtholder of Friesland, noted in June 1645 in his diary that the sixteen-year-old Wilhelmine Christine was the favourite girlfriend of Prince William II of Orange, "die hij zoo dicwils custe als hij woude, alleen sijnde, en de borstjes tastede" ("whom he kissed as much as he wished, being alone, and touching the breasts"). William II had to promise Wilhelmine Christine "sich deechlijck te hauden" ("to stay decent"), but the consequence of this intimacy was that her mother Christiane did not want Wilhelmine Christine to be alone with Prince William, "doch dat sie het allebeide sochten" ("but that they both sought it").[8] When Christiane came in "maeckte prins Wilhelm den slaepert" ("Prince William sneaked out").[9]
Also after the death of Christiane in 1646, the prince was still in contact with Wilhelmine Christine. In November 1648, William Frederick wrote in his diary that William had told him that he had secretly visited her dozens of times and had seen her in bed twice, but that he had stayed "degelijck" ("decent"), "niet als kussen en eens geraeckt, doch en passant en op het lest" ("nothing but kissing and touching, but in passing and at the last moment"). Earlier, William had mentioned that he would have wanted Wilhelmine Christine "heel" ("complete"); he would have preferred her as wife to anyone else.[10]
Wilhelmine Christine married at Arolsen Castle on 26 January 1660 to Count Josias II of Waldeck-Wildungen (Wildungen, 31 July 1636Jul.[11] [12] – Kandia, 8 August 1669Greg.[13] [14]), the second son of Count Philip VII of Waldeck-Wildungen and Countess Anne Catherine of Sayn-Wittgenstein.[15] [16] In 1660 Josias was granted the district of Wildungen as an appanage, later also the districts of and .
Wilhelmine Christine and Josias were closely related. Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen, Josias' grandmother, was the eldest sister of Wilhelmine Christine's father. Also from his mother's side, Josias was related to Wilhelmine Christine. His great-grandmother, also named Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen, was a younger sister of Count John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen, the great-grandfather of Wilhelmine Christine. Agnes of Wied, the great-great-grandmother of Josias, was a daughter of yet another Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen, a younger sister of Count William I 'the Rich' of Nassau-Siegen, who was also the great-great-grandfather of Wilhelmine Christine. Finally, both Wilhelmine Christine and Josias descended from Count Wolrad I of Waldeck-Waldeck, Wilhelmine Christine through her grandmother Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen.[17] [18]
Wilhelmine Christine outlived her husband by almost 31 years; she died in Hildburghausen on 22 January 1700 and was buried in Saalfeld on 27 January.
From the marriage of Wilhelmine Christine and Josias, the following children were born:[19]
Wilhelmine Christine has several known descendants. Among them are:
| Ancestors of Wilhelmine Christine of Nassau-Siegen[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great-great-grandparents | William I 'the Rich' of Nassau-Siegen (1487–1559) ⚭ 1531 Juliane of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1506–1580) | George III of Leuchtenberg (1502–1555) ⚭ 1528 Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1495–1552) | Henry VIII of Waldeck-Wildungen (1465–1513) ⚭ before 1492 Anastasia of Runkel (?–1502/03) | Salentin VII of Isenburg-Grenzau (before 1470–1534) ⚭ Elisabeth of Hunolstein-Neumagen (ca. 1475–1536/38) | Eberhard XI of Erbach (1475–1539) ⚭ 1503 Mary of Wertheim (1485–1553) | Philip of Salm-Dhaun (1492–1521) ⚭ 1514 Antoinette of Neufchatel (1496–1544) | Wolfgang of Barby and Mühlingen (1502–1564) ⚭ 1526 Agnes of Mansfeld-Hinterort (1511–1558) | John II of Anhalt-Zerbst (1504–1551) ⚭ 1534 Margaret of Brandenburg (1511–1577) | |
| Great-grandparents | John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen (1536–1606) ⚭ 1559 Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg (1537–1579) | Philip IV of Waldeck-Wildungen (1493–1574) ⚭ 1554 Jutta of Isenburg-Grenzau (?–1564) | Eberhard XII of Erbach (1511–1564) ⚭ 1538 Margaret of Salm-Dhaun (1521–1576) | Albrecht X of Barby and Mühlingen (1534–1588) ⚭ 1559 Mary of Anhalt-Zerbst (1538–1563) | |||||
| Grandparents | John VII 'the Middle' of Nassau-Siegen (1561–1623) ⚭ 1581 Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen (1558–1599) | George III of Erbach (1548–1605) ⚭ 1592 Mary of Barby and Mühlingen (1563–1619) | |||||||
| Parents | William of Nassau-Siegen (1592–1642) ⚭ 1619 Christiane of Erbach (1596–1646) | ||||||||
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