Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

{{Redirect|Elisabeth Amalie|the grandmother of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

| full name = {{langx|de|Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene von Hessen-Darmstadt}}
{{langx|en|Elizabeth Amelia Magdalena of Hesse-Darmstadt}}

|image= File:Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, Electress Palatine.jpg

|caption=

| succession = Electress Palatine

|consort=yes

|reign=26 May 1685 – 2 September 1690

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1635|3|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = New Palace, Gießen, Germany

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1709|8|4|1635|3|20|df=y}}

| death_place = Neuburg Palace, |Neuburg, Germany

| spouse = {{marriage|Philip William, Elector Palatine|1653|1690|end=died}}

| house = Hesse-Darmstadt

| father = George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

| place of burial=Neuburg an der Donau, Germany

| issue=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

| issue-link=#Issue

| mother =Sophia Eleonore of Saxony

| religion = Roman Catholicism
prev. Lutheranism

}}

Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie Magdalene of Hesse-Darmstadt (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

File:Johann Spilberg 002.jpg, 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.

style="background:#ccccff;"\|Issue
class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% align="center"
{\| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable" ! width=20% \| Name !! width=100px \| Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes
Eleonor Magdalene Holy Roman Empress	80px	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	80px	19 April 1658- 8 June 1716	Married first Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria and had no surviving issue; married second Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and had no issue
Wolfgang George Frederik Auxiliary Bishop in Köln	80px	5 June 1659- 4 June 1683	Died unmarried
Ludwig Anton Bishop of Worms	80px	9 June 1660- 4 May 1694	Died unmarried
Charles III Philip Elector Palatine	80px	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	80px \| \|16 April 1663- 24 January 1737	Died unmarried
Francis Louis Archbishop of Wrocław	80px	18 July 1664- 6 April 1732	Died unmarried
Frederik Wilhelm Imperial General	80px	20 July 1665- 23 July 1689	Died unmarried
Maria Sophia Elisabeth Queen of Portugal	80px	6 August 1666- 4 August 1699	Married in 1687 Peter II of Portugal and had issue
Maria Anna Queen of Spain	80px	28 October 1667- 16 July 1740	Married in 1690 Charles II of Spain, no issue;
Philip William August	80px	19 November 1668- 5 April 1693	Married in 1690 Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg and had issue
Dorothea Sophie Duchess of Parma	80px	5 July 1670- 15 September 1748	Married in 1690 Odoardo Farnese and had issue;
Hedwig Elisabeth Amelia Princess Sobieski	80px	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	80px	27 May 1679 - 8 March 1693	Died unmarried

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)

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

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140306112911/https://www.duesseldorf.de/stadtmuseum/sammlung/04/012/10203.shtml Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf - Elisabeth Amalie Magdalena (1635 - 1709), Landgräfin von Hessen-Darmstadt, Pfalzgräfin bei Rhein zu Neuburg, Herzogin von Jülich-Berg, seit 1685 Kurfürstin von der Pfalz]
{{Google books |id=v20AAAAAcAAJ |page=39 |title=Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Schwalbach }}
{{Google books |id=zt8tAAAAYAAJ |page=237 |title=Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein, insbesondere die alte Erzdiözese Köln }}

{{succession box |

title=Electress Palatine |

before=Wilhelmina Ernestine of Denmark |

after=Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici |

years=1685–1690}}

Category:1635 births

Category:1709 deaths

Category:German Roman Catholics

Category:Electoral Princesses of the Palatinate

Category:People from Giessen

Category:House of Hesse-Darmstadt

Category:Countesses Palatine of Neuburg