# Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg

Henrietta Alexandrine Friederike Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (areas now part of Germany) (30 October 1797 Palace Eremitage, Bayreuth – 29 December 1829, Vienna) was the wife of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Her husband was a notable general of the Napoleonic Wars and victor of the Battle of Aspern-Essling against Napoleon I of France.

## Family

Henrietta was the youngest daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Buggraf Georg Wilhelm von Kirchberg, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg (1751-1777) and his wife, Princess Isabelle Auguste Reuss of Greiz (1752-1824). Her paternal grandparents were Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau, both members of the different branches of an ancient House of Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange and his wife, Anne, Princess Royal. Anne was in turn the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his wife, Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

## Marriage

On 15 September/17 September 1815 in Weilburg, Henrietta was married to a much older Archduke, Charles Louis of Austria. The bride was almost eighteen years old and the groom forty-four. Her husband was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife, Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain. However he had been adopted and raised by his childless, but rich aunt, Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen. He was the heir to the vast Duchy of Teschen and would succeed in 1822. The marriage was allowed even though she was a Protestant and remained as such throughout her life, despite the fact that almost all members of House of Habsburg were staunch Catholics. This marriage was a very happy one with an agreement that all their children were to be raised as Catholics.
She has been known as the person who popularized the Christmas tree in Vienna after it was already introduced by Fanny von Arnstein in 1814 during the Vienna Congress.
Henrietta died young of scarlet fever, which she had caught while nursing her children through the same illness. She is the only Protestant buried in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church. This was allowed by order of her brother-in-law Emperor Francis I, who said, "She dwelt among us when she was alive, and so she shall in death".
Together, Henrietta and Charles had seven children, two girls and five boys, one of whom didn't reach adulthood:

## Issue

Issue :
| Name | Lifespan | Notes |
| Archduchess Maria Theresa Queen of the Two Sicilies. | 1816– 1867 | Married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, had issue |
| Archduke Albrecht Duke of Teschen | 1817– 1895 | Married Princess Hildegard of Bavaria, had issue |
| Archduke Karl Ferdinand | 1818– 1874 | Married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, had issue |
| Archduke Friedrich Ferdinand Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy | 1821– 1847 | Died unmarried |
| Archduke Rudolph | 1822– 1822 | Died in childhood |
| Archduchess Maria Karoline | 1825– 1915 | Married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria, no issue |
| Archduke Wilhelm Franz Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights | 1827– 1894 | Died unmarried |

## Ancestry

Ancestors of Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg :