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Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont.jpg
Emma as Queen mother
Queen consort of the Netherlands
Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Tenure 7 January 1879 – 23 November 1890
Born (1858-08-02)2 August 1858
Arolsen Castle, Arolsen, Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Confederation
Died 20 March 1934(1934-03-20) (aged 75)
Lange Voorhout Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
Burial Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, Netherlands
Spouse William III of the Netherlands
Issue Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Full name
Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia
House Waldeck and Pyrmont
Father George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Mother Princess Helena of Nassau
Full name
Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia

Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg by marriage to King-Grand Duke William III. An immensely popular member of the Dutch Royal Family, Queen Emma served as regent for her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina, during the latter's minority from 1890 until 1898.

Emma was born a Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 2 August 1858 in Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Princess Helena of Nassau. Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena, was the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria.

Her maternal grandfather was William, Duke of Nassau, a grandson of Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau, through which she inherited a place in the line of succession to the Dutch Crown until 1887.

Princess Emma married the elderly King William III in Arolsen on 7 January 1879, two years after the death of his first wife, Sophie of Württemberg. The aging, licentious King, once described as "the greatest debauchee of the age", is supposed to have previously been rejected by Princess Thyra of Denmark, who had more interest in his youngest son. Emma's elder sister Pauline was the King's obvious first target, but Emma was the one who stepped in with the words: "I wouldn't mind becoming Queen of the Netherlands!"


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Wikipedia

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