Countess Emilia of Nassau

Emilia of Nassau
Titiular Queen consort of Portugal Princess of Portugal'
Spouse	Manuel de Portugal
Issue
Maria Belgica, Baroness de Prangins Manuel de Portugal, duque de Beja Louia William de Portugal, marquez de Trancoso Emilia Louise Anna Louise Juliana Catharina Mauritia Eleonora, Countess George Frederick of Nassau-Siegen Sabina Delphica of Portugal (1612-1670)
House	House of Orange-Nassau
Father	William the Silent
Mother	Anna of Saxony
Born	10 April 1569(1569-04-10) Cologne
Died	16 March 1629(1629-03-16) (aged 59) Geneva

Countess Emilia of Nassau (April 10, 1569 – March 16, 1629) was the youngest daughter of William the Silent and his second wife Anna of Saxony.

Biography

Prince Manuel, presumed Heir to the Throne of Portugal, son of Anthony I of Portugal

Emilia was born in Cologne. She is named after Amalia of Neuenahr, who was in charge of her mother's household at the time of her birth. Emilia's mother had an affair with the father of painter Peter Paul Rubens. Due to this infidelity Emilia and her siblings Anna and Maurice were taken out of their mother's care and went to live with their uncle John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg at Dillenburg. Emilia later went to live in Delft with her father and in Friesland with her sister Anna.

After her father's death, she acted as hostess at the court of her brother Maurice. It was on one of those occasions that she met Dom Manuel de Portugal (son of pretender to the Portuguese throne, António, Prior of Crato). She secretly wed him in 1597. Maurice was firmly opposed to the marriage and banished her from court for ten years. They made peace with each other later on and she was with him at his deathbed.

Emilia and her husband had ten children. They went to live separately later on when her husband decided - due to financial concerns - to live at the court of Isabella of Spain, archenemy of the house of Orange, in Brussels. Emilia went to Geneva with her daughters where she died three years later.

Children:

• Daughter (1598–1602)
• Maria Belgica of Portugal (1599–1647)
• Emanuel II of Portugal (1600–1666)
• Lodewijk Willem of Portugal (1601–1660)
• Daughter (1602–1603)
• Emilia Louise of Portugal (1603–1670)
• Anna Louise of Portugal (1605–1669)
• Juliana Catharina of Portugal (ca. 1607–1680)
• Mauritia Eleonora of Portugal (1609–1674) married Georg Friedrich (Nassau-Siegen) (1606–1674) son of John VII, Count of Nassau a great nephew of William I of Orange
• Sabina Delphica of Portugal (1612–1670)

Ancestry

Countess Emilia of Nassau: Ancestors in three generations

Countess Emilia of Nassau	Father: Prince William I of Orange (The Silent) (1533–1584)	Grandfather: Count William I of Nassau-Dillenburg (1487–1559)	Greatgrandfather: Count John V of Nassau-Dillenburg (1455–1516)
			Greatgrandmother: Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg (1466–1523)
		Grandmother: Countess Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1506–1580)	Greatgrandfather: Count Botho VIII of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1467–1538)
			Greatgrandmother: Anna of Epstein-Königstein (1482–1538)
	Mother: Anna of Saxony (1544–1577)	Grandfather: Elector Maurice I of Saxony (1521–1553)	Greatgrandfather: Duke Henry IV of Saxony (1473–1541)
			Greatgrandmother: Catharina of Mecklenburg (1487–1561)
		Grandmother: Agnes of Hesse (1527–1555)	Greatgrandfather: Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1504–1567)
			Greatgrandmother: Christine of Saxony (1505–1549)

References

• "Emilia van Oranje-Nassau:" last accessed April 10, 2007

Persondata
Name	Nassau, Emilia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 10, 1569
Place of birth	Cologne
Date of death	March 16, 1629
Place of death	Geneva