Princess Louise of Prussia (1808–1870)

Louise was born in Königsberg or Berlin. She and Prince Frederick of the Netherlands knew each other from childhood because of Frederick's frequent visits in Berlin. They became engaged in 1823, and married on 21 May 1825 in Berlin. The marriage was conducted in order with the legitimist policies of the time, as the Dutch Royal House was newly established, and corresponded with the marriage of her brother to her sister-in-law.[1]

They had four children:

• Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise (5 August 1828 – 30 March 1871), married to Charles XV of Sweden
• Willem Frederik Nicolaas Karel (6 July 1833 in The Hague – 1 November 1834 in The Hague)
• Willem Frederik Nicolaas Albert (22 August 1836 in The Hague – 23 January 1846 in The Hague)
• Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise Marie (5 July 1841 in Pauw Haus, Wassenaar - 22 June 1910 in Neuwied), married in Wassenaar on 18 July 1871 to William, Prince of Wied (1845–1907). They were parents of William, Prince of Albania.

Louise and Frederick lived in the Hague, at Korte Voorhout and, from 1838 onward, in Wassenaar. Louise played no dominant public role but shared her husband's spotless reputation in the eyes of the public. She is described as having had a strong closeness to her extended family, with whom she corresponded, and often visited her relatives and eventually also her children abroad, when they left the Netherlands after their marriages. Her correspondence with her children and relatives is considered a valuable source of contemporary court life in the Netherlands, Sweden and Russia.[1] While there is no information as to whether she tried to participate in politics or not, she was strongly Pro-Prussian, and her views caused a conflict between her and queen Sophie during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.[1]

Louise and her husband both contributed ideas for the construction of their residence in Passow, in collaboration with the architects Eduard Petzold and Jan David Zocher. In 1869, Louise founded a charity foundation for orphans, the Luisestiftelsen ('Louise Foundation').[1]

Princess Louise died in Pauw Haus, Wassenaar, aged 62.