Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau
| Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau | |
|---|---|
Albertine Agnes of Nassau
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| Spouse(s) | William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz |
| Noble family | House of Nassau |
| Father | Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange |
| Mother | Amalia of Solms-Braunfels |
| Born |
April 9, 1634 The Hague |
| Died | May 26, 1696 (aged 62) Oranjewoud Palace |
Albertine Agnes (April 9, 1634 – May 26, 1696), was a regent of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. She was the sixth child and fifth daughter of stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels.
Albertine Agnes was born in The Hague and was the sixth of nine children born to her parents. Some of her siblings died in childhood. Albertine and four other siblings lived to adulthood. Her surviving siblings were: William II, Prince of Orange, Luise Henriette of Nassau, Henriette Catherine of Nassau and Mary of Nassau.
Albertine's paternal grandparents were William the Silent and his fourth wife Louise de Coligny. Her grandfather, William, was murdered on the orders of Philip II of Spain, who believed that William had betrayed the Spanish king and the Catholic religion.
Her maternal grandparents were Johan Albrecht I of Solms-Braunfels and his wife Agnes of Sayn-Wittgenstein.
In 1652 she married her second-cousin, William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz. They had three children:
After the death of her husband in 1664, she became regent for her son in Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. In 1665, both England and the bishopric of Münster declared war on the Netherlands. Because most of the money for defence had been used for the fleet, the army had been neglected. When Groningen was under siege, Albertine Agnes hastened to the city to give moral support. Pressure by King Louis XIV of France, then an ally, forced the forces of her enemies retreated, but six years later the Netherlands were attacked from the south, by the French under Louis XIV and from the north by the bishop of Münster and archbishop of Cologne. She organised defence and kept moral high.
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