Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (German: Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst; Dutch: Hendrik Vladimir Albrecht Ernst; 19 April 1876 – 3 July 1934) was prince consort of the Netherlands as the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. He was the longest-serving consort of the Netherlands.
| Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Prince Henry in 1915 | |||||
| Prince consort of the Netherlands | |||||
| Tenure | 7 February 1901 – 3 July 1934 | ||||
| Born | 19 April 1876 Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Empire | ||||
| Died | 3 July 1934 (aged 58) Kneuterdijk Palace, Netherlands | ||||
| Burial | 11 July 1934 Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, Netherlands | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue |
| ||||
| |||||
| House | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | ||||
| Father | Frederick Francis II | ||||
| Mother | Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | ||||
| Religion |
| ||||
| Occupation | Military officer | ||||
Biography
Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born on 19 April 1876 in Schwerin. He was the youngest son of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his third wife, Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
He was created Prince of the Netherlands on 6 February 1901, and married Queen Wilhelmina on 7 February 1901, in The Hague. Although the queen was devoted to her spouse at the time of their marriage, it proved in the long run to be an unhappy one that did little more than meet its obligation by producing an heir. They had one child, Juliana, in whose favor Wilhelmina abdicated on 4 September 1948.
He was the 279th Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword in Portugal and the 1,157th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain in 1924.
He died, at the age of 58, on 3 July 1934 in The Hague, Netherlands.
Scouting
He successfully merged the two Dutch Boy Scout organisations Nederlandse Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation) and the Nederlandse Padvinders Bond (NPB, Netherlands Pathfinder Federation) on 11 December 1915 to form De Nederlandse Padvinders (NPV, The Netherlands Pathfinders). He became the Royal Commissioner of that organisation and he asked Jean Jacques Rambonnet to become chairman in 1920 .[1]
Extramarital relationships
Prince Henry was known to have had numerous extra-marital affairs, at least one of which resulted in illegitimate offspring; during her widowhood, Queen Wilhelmina paid monthly allowances to three known ex-mistresses: Julia Cervey in Geneva (two hundred guilders per month); Wilhelmine Steiner in Zurich (five hundred guilders per month); and Mein Lier-Wenneker (1887-1973), in The Hague (five hundred guilders per month).[2]
Illegitimate children
Mein Abbo-Wenneker (later Lier-Wenneker, 1887-1973), gave birth to a total of six children; the older two, sisters Christina Margaretha Abbo & Edith Abbo (later Sheep-Abbo) [3] were ostensibly the daughters of Mein’s first husband, Dhr. Abbo, but strongly rumored to have been fathered by Prince Henry. By then a widow, Mein in 1918 gave birth to Prince Henry’s acknowledged son, Albrecht Willem (known as Pim Lier ) (22 Jul 1918 – 9 Apr 2015).[4] In 1919, Mein married Lieutenant Jan Derk Lier Winch, a former aide-de-camp to Prince Henry. A grant of one hundred thousand guilders was arranged for Lt. Lier Winch [5] from the State by police chief François van 't Sant, whom Queen Wilhelmina engaged to verify the facts of her husband’s extramarital relationships and children. This, plus a monthly allowance to the Lt from the state of one thousand guilders, was in return for his commitment to "the three children of HRH.”
The male parent of the remaining three children was not verified as being either Prince Henry or Lt. Lier Winch. Subsequent to their birth, no additional allowance was settled on the family; in fact, the monthly allowance of one thousand guilders to Lt. Jan Derk Lier was halved by van't Sant after a short period, although the allowance to his wife continued.
It is rumored that, overall, Prince Henry fathered between three and ten illegitimate children, but firm proof remains elusive.
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
- 19 April 1876 – 7 February 1901: His Highness Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- 7 February 1901 – 3 July 1934: His Royal Highness The Prince of the Netherlands[6]
Honours
- German decorations[7]
Mecklenburg:
- House Order of the Wendish Crown, Grand Cross with Crown in Ore and Chain
- Order of the Griffon, Grand Cross
- Lifesaving Medal
Bavaria: Order of St. Hubert, Knight[8]
Oldenburg: House Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, Grand Cross with Chain
Prussia:
- Order of the Black Eagle, Knight[8]
- Order of the Red Eagle, Grand Cross
- Johanniter Order, Knight of Justice
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:
- Order of the White Falcon, Grand Cross
- Golden Jubilee Medal
Saxony: Order of the Rue Crown, Knight
Schaumburg-Lippe: House Order of Lippe, Grand Cross
Waldeck-Pyrmont: Merit Cross, 1st Class
Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross
- Foreign decorations[7]
Austria-Hungary: Order of St. Stephen of Hungary, Grand Cross – 1903[9]
Belgium: Royal Order of Leopold, Grand Cordon
Bulgaria: Order of St. Alexander, Grand Cross
Denmark: Order of the Elephant, Knight – 12 December 1912[8][10]
Estonia: Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 1st Class
Finland: Order of the White Rose of Finland, Grand Cross
Kingdom of Greece: Order of the Redeemer, Grand Cross
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion[8]
Netherlands:
- Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau, Knight
- Johanniter Order, Grand Master – 30 April 1909[8]
- Wedding Medal of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – 1901
- Wedding Medal of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld – 1937
Ottoman Empire: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class
Poland: Order of the White Eagle, Knight
Kingdom of Portugal:
- Military Order of Christ, Grand Cross
- Order of the Tower and Sword, Grand Cross[11]
Kingdom of Romania: Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Cross
Russian Empire:
- Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Knight[8]
- Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, Knight
- Order of St. Anna, 1st Class
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
- Order of the White Eagle, Knight
Siam:
- Order of the Royal House of Chakri, Knight
- Order of the White Elephant, Grand Cross
Spain: Order of the Golden Fleece, Knight – 9 March 1924[12][13]
Sweden: Royal Order of the Seraphim, Knight – 30 January 1901[8]
United Kingdom: Order of the Bath, Honorary Grand Cross
Ancestry
See also
- Prince Henry of the Netherlands (governor)
- PEC Zwolle, football club named in his honour
References
- ^ "Koninklijke Scouts 1. Nederland" (PDF). Piet J. Kroonenberg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.isgeschiedenis.nl/nieuws/prins_hendrik/
- ^ https://www.myheritage.com/names/albrecht_wenneker
- ^ http://de-marne.nieuws.nl/nieuws/3027/httpde-marne-nieuws-nlnieuws1309vader-hoekstra-zou-zoon-van-prins-hendrik-zijn/
- ^ http://vivanepotista.com/post/50864882336/king-alex-queen-max-and-the-colorful-house-of
- ^ "Titels leden Koninklijke Familie". The Royal House. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ a b Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar, 1908, p. 5
- ^ a b c d e f g Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha 1922 (1922) page 71
- ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jørgen Pedersen (2009). Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009 (in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag. p. 466. ISBN 978-87-7674-434-2.
- ^ "Grand Crosses of the Order of the Tower and Sword". geneall.net. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "Bolletino Ufficiale di Stato" (PDF).
- ^ "Toison Espagnole (Spanish Fleece) - 20th century" (in French), Chevaliers de la Toison D'or. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
External links
