Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg
| Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg | |
|---|---|
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Holy Roman Empress Queen of Bohemia |
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| Tenure | 5 May 1705 – 17 April 1711 |
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Queen of the Germans Queen of Hungary |
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| Tenure | 24 February 1699 – 17 April 1711 |
| Born |
21 April 1673 Hanover, Germany |
| Died | 10 April 1742 (aged 68) Vienna, Austria |
| Burial | Salesian convent, Vienna |
| Spouse | Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Issue |
Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland Archduke Leopold Joseph Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress |
| House | Hanover |
| Father | John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (21 April 1673 – 10 April 1742) was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of the Germans, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia, Archduchess consort of Austria etc. as the spouse of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Wilhelmine Amalia was the youngest daughter of John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate. Her two surviving sisters were Charlotte Felicitas, who married the Duke of Modena, and Henriette Marie, who never married. Wilhelmina was given a Catholic education by her great-aunt Louise Holladine at the convent of Maubuisson, and did not return to Hanover until she was 20 years old, in 1693.
Early on, the Holy Roman Empress Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg decided that Wilhelmina Amalia would be her daughter-in-law. Prince Salm was instrumental in speaking for her candidacy. The adviser of Eleonor, Marco d'Aviano, had convinced her that Wilhelmine Amalia, being pious and older than Joseph, could act as a tempering influence and discontinue his sex life outside of marriage, and to Leopold, he claimed that he had a vision that the pair would be happy. She was subjected to medical examination to establish if she was fertile, and though she was senior to Joseph, which was initially to her disadvantage, it was decided that her mental maturity would benefit fertilization.
As a result, on 24 February 1699, she married Eleonor's son, Archduke Joseph, the heir of Emperor Leopold I. At their wedding, the opera Hercule and Hebe by Reinhard Keiser (1674–1739) was performed. Upon Joseph's election as Emperor in 1705, she became Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.
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