Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Electress Palatine
Tenure26 May 1685 – 2 September 1690
Born(1635-03-20)20 March 1635
New Palace, Gießen, Germany
Died4 August 1709(1709-08-04) (aged 74)
Neuburg Palace, Neuburg, Germany
Burial
Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
Spouse
(m. 1653; died 1690)
Issue
Detail
Eleonor Magdalene, Holy Roman Empress
John William, Elector Palatine
Wolfgang George Frederick von Pfalz-Neuburg
Ludwig Anton von Pfalz-Neuburg
Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine
Alexander Sigismund, Bishop of Augsburg
Francis Louis, Archbishop of Trier
Frederick Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg
Maria Sophia, Queen of Portugal
Maria Anna, Queen of Spain
Philip William August of Neuburg
Dorothea Sophie, Duchess of Parma
Hedwig Elisabeth, Princess Sobieski
Countess Palatine Leopoldine Eleonora of Neuburg
Names
German: Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene von Hessen-Darmstadt
English: Elizabeth Amelia Magdalena of Hesse-Darmstadt
HouseHesse-Darmstadt
FatherGeorge II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
MotherSophia Eleonore of Saxony
ReligionRoman Catholicism
prev. Lutheranism

Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene; 20 March 1635 – 4 August 1709) was a German princess of Hesse-Darmstadt who became Electress Palatine as the second wife of Philip William, Elector Palatine.

Biography

Elisabeth Amalie, probably with her eldest daughter Eleonor Magdalene, around 1655.

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 her and was the heir to the Electoral Palatinate, which was one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire. In the course of her marriage, Elisabeth Amalie was pregnant 23 times in just 24 years.

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

She gave birth to nine sons and eight daughters, 14 of whom lived to adulthood.

Elisabeth Amalie also suffered six miscarriages:

  • A miscarried daughter (16 January 1654)
  • A miscarried daughter (28 October 1660)
  • A miscarried son (1 February 1662)
  • A miscarried daughter (18 July 1671)
  • A miscarried daughter (28 October 1676)
  • A miscarried son (1 February 1678)

Ancestry


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