Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Electress Palatine
Elisabeth Amalie, probably with her eldest daughter Eleonore, around 1655
Born	(1635-03-20)20 March 1635 New Palace, Gießen, Germany
Died	Neuburg Palace, Neuburg, Germany
Burial	Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
Spouse	Philip William, Elector Palatine (m. 1653; his death 1690)
Issue Detail	Eleonor Magdalene, Holy Roman Empress John William, Elector Palatine Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine Alexander Sigismund, Bishop of Augsburg Francis Louis, Archbishop of Trier Maria Sophia, Queen of Portugal Maria Anna, Queen of Spain Philip William August of Neuburg Dorothea Sophie, Duchess of Parma Hedwig Elisabeth, Princess Sobieski
Full name German: Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene van Hessen-Darmstadt English: Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene of Hesse-Darmstadt
House	Hesse-Darmstadt
Father	George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Mother	Sophia Eleonore of Saxony
Religion	Roman Catholicism prev. Lutheranism

Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene; 20 March 1635 – 4 August 1709) was a princess of Hesse-Darmstadt and wife of the Prince-elector of the Palatinate.

Biography

Born at the New Palace in Gießen, Elisabeth Amalie was the daughter of George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony. Her siblings included Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, future Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Anna Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg.

Elisabeth Amalie was brought up strictly by her mother who was a devout Lutheran. She had an attractive appearance with striking blond hair, a trait she kept until her old age and which was inherited by her daughters Eleonor Magdalene and Dorothea Sophie, the latter being known in particular for her blonde hair.

On 3 September 1653 she was married at Langenschwalbach to Count palatine Philip William of Neuburg, who later became Prince-elector of the Palatinate. Her husband was some twenty years older than she and was the heir to the Electoral Palatinate which was one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire.

She converted to Catholicism on 1 November 1653 in the presence of the elector and archbishop of Cologne, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria.

The writer William Nakatenus dedicated his work The Heavenly Palm little garden to her.

Issue

Issue

Name Portrait Lifespan Notes Eleonor Magdalene Holy Roman Empress 6 January 1655- 19 January 1720 Married in 1676 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and had issue; Maria Adelheid Anna 6 January 1656- 22 December 1656 Died in infancy Sophia Elisabeth 25 May 1657- 7 February 1658 Died in infancy Johann Wilhelm Elector Palatine 19 April 1658- 8 June 1716 Married first Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria and had issue; married second Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and had no issue Wolfgang George Frederik Auxiliary Bishop in Köln 5 June 1659- 4 June 1683 Died unmarried Ludwig Anton Bishop of Worms 9 June 1660- 4 May 1694 Died unmarried Charles III Philip Elector Palatine 4 November 1661- 31 December 1742 Married first Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł and had issue; married second Teresa Lubomirska and had issue; married third Violante Theresia of Thurn and Taxis, no issue Alexander Sigismund Bishop of Augsburg 16 April 1663- 24 January 1737 Died unmarried Francis Louis Count Palatine Archbishop of Wrocław 18 July 1664- 6 April 1732 Died unmarried Frederik Wilhelm Imperial General 20 July 1665- 23 July 1689 Died unmarried Maria Sophia Elisabeth Queen of Portugal 6 August 1666- 4 August 1699 Married in 1687 Peter II of Portugal and had issue Maria Anna Queen of Spain 28 October 1667- 16 July 1740 Married in 1690 Charles II of Spain, no issue; Philip William August 19 November 1668- 5 April 1693 Married in 1690 Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg and had issue Dorothea Sophie Duchess of Parma 5 July 1670- 15 September 1748 Married in 1690 Odoardo Farnese and had issue; Hedwig Elisabeth Amelia Princess Sobieski 18 July 1673- 10 August 1722 Married in 1691 James Louis Sobieski and had issue; Johann 1 February 1675- 2 February 1675 Died in infancy Leopoldine Eleonora Josepha 27 May 1679 - 8 March 1693 Died unmarried

Ancestry

Family of Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

16. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse               8. George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       17. Christine of Saxony               4. Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                             18. Bernhard VIII, Lord of Lippe               9. Magdalene of Lippe                       19. Catherine of Waldeck-Eisenberg               2. George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                                   20. Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg               10. John George, Elector of Brandenburg (=26)                       21. Magdalena of Saxony               5. Magdalene of Brandenburg                             22. Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt               11. Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst                       23. Agnes of Barby-Mühlingen               1. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt                                         24. Augustus, Elector of Saxony               12. Christian I, Elector of Saxony                       25. Anna of Denmark               6. John George I, Elector of Saxony                             26. John George, Elector of Brandenburg (=10)               13. Sophie of Brandenburg                       27. Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach               3. Duchess Sophia Eleonore of Saxony                                   28. Albert, Duke of Prussia               14. Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia                       29. Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg               7. Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia                             30. Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg               15. Marie Eleonore of Cleves                       31. Archduchess Maria of Austria

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 20 March 1635 – 3 September 1653 Her Serene Highness Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
• 3 September 1653 – 26 May 1685 Her Serene Highness The Electoral Princess of the Palatinate
• 26 May 1685 – 2 September 1690 Her Serene Highness The Electress Palatine
• 2 September 1690 – 4 August 1709 Her Serene Highness The Dowager Electress Palatine

References

• Choker, Peter, Diseases of the kings of Spain: the Austrians. From Madness to impotence Joan of Charles II the Bewitched (Madrid: The Sphere Books Ltd., 2005).

External links

• http://thepeerage.com/p11212.htm#i112112
• https://www.duesseldorf.de/stadtmuseum/sammlung/04/012/10203.shtml
• http://genealogy.euweb.cz/brabant/brabant13.html
• http://genealogy.euweb.cz/wittel/wittel4.html#PW
• Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Schwalbach, p. 39, at Google Books
• Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein, insbesondere die alte Erzdiözese Köln, p. 237, at Google Books

Preceded by Wilhelmina Ernestine of Denmark

Electress Palatine 1685–1690

Succeeded by Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici