Familienstammbaum Dullemen » Willem Alexander Karel Hendrik Frederik (Alexander) of ORANGE-NASSAU (1851-1884)

Persönliche Daten Willem Alexander Karel Hendrik Frederik (Alexander) of ORANGE-NASSAU 

• Er wurde geboren am 25. August 1851.
• Titel: Prince
• Er ist verstorben am 21. Juni 1884, er war 32 Jahre alt.
• Ein Kind von Willem van ORANJE NASSAU und Sofia Frederika Mathilde (Sophie) van WURTTEMBERG

Familie von Willem Alexander Karel Hendrik Frederik (Alexander) of ORANGE-NASSAU

Notizen bei Willem Alexander Karel Hendrik Frederik (Alexander) of ORANGE-NASSAU

The engagement and marriage of the Dutch Crown Prince Willem Alexander and MÃíxima Zorreguieta has
resulted in a hype in The Netherlands. Hardly anyone, however, remembers the previous Dutch Crown
Prince. His name was Alexander and he lived in the 19th century. He had progressive ideas and
scientific and cultural interests, but he was also his mother's darling. After his mother's death
he became extremely melancholic. He locked himself up in his residence, leaving only to visit his
mother's vault. Crown Prince Willem Alexander Karel Hendrik Frederik of The Netherlands
(1851-1884) was the youngest son of King Willem III of The Netherlands (1817-1890) and his first
cousin Sophie of Württemberg (1818-1877) 1. Around his birth on August 25, 1851, his parents were
already fighting like cat and dog. King Willem did not hesitate to whip his wife with his riding
whip. Queen Sophie had often trouble hiding the scratches and bruises inflicted by her husband.
Sophie was an intellectual, progressive in thoughts, but melodramatic in behaviour. Willem could
be jovial, but he was also hot-tempered, coarse and capricious 2. Both were pig-headed and
Sophie's snobbery brought out the worst in Willem. In the first four years of their marriage,
the Princes Willem ("Wiwill") and Maurits were born. In May 1850 Prince Maurits suffered from
meningitis and Sophie wanted to consult another physician for a second opinion, but Willem
refused. After Maurits' subsequent death, Sophie left her husband and returned to Württemberg,
but she was persuaded to return. In the short period of reconsiliation Prince Alexander was
conceived. The couple set up separate households in 1855. From then on Sophie and her youngest
son usually resided in the Palace known as "Huis ten Bosch". Queen Sophie took it upon herself
to provide for Alexander's education. Sometimes she invited children of the court officials to
come and study or play with the little Prince. Alexander (to the right) was a shy, timid and
hypersensitive boy with a weak constitution. He became his mother's darling. In domestic
quarrels, Alexander usually chose his mother's side. Lord Stanley described Queen Sophie as "very
talkative, very clever, very odd; easily excited [..]: not the least formal, not causing
stiffness, as royal people always do". Both the King and the Crown Prince could often be found
in the luxurious brothels of Paris, where they both shared the favours of the famous Cora Pearl.
In 1860 20-year-old Crown Prince Wiwill (to the right) was the cause of a scandal, when he became
acquinted with the courtesan Elisabeth Cookson in France. Arriving in The Netherlands, she soon
became the mistress of King Willem III. After a couple of months, the father was forced by public
opinion to send her back to France, where she continued her relation with the son. In August
1861 King Willem appointed 10-year-old Alexander as luitenant of a regiment of grenadeers.
Meanwhile, his mother tried to instill progressive ideas and cultural interests in her youngest
son. In April 1866 the royal family attended a performance of the musician Franz Liszt. Later
that year Alexander travelled with his mother to Switserland to improve his health. The next year
his physical condition detoriated further. His spine had become somewhat crooked and his left
shoulder was higher than his right one. Because of his weak spine, he was forced to wear an iron
corset from 1867 onwards. It resulted in a liver injury. In May 1868 Alexander and his mother
travelled to the spa of St. Seine l'Abbaye near Dijon in France. Back in The Hague, Queen Sophie
(to the right) invited sons of noble families for a discussion group to enable 17-year-old
Alexander to meet other young men. After his 18th birthday in August 1869, Alexander was allowed
to travel in the Mediterranean. Subsequently, he studied history and constitutional law at the
University of Leiden for 4 years. His mother visited him once a week in Leiden. In 1874 Alexander
established himself at the Kneuterdijk in The Hague. As private secretary he hired Willem
Johannes Dominicus van Dijck (1850-1909), whose father was an illegitimate half-brother of King
Willem III. In 1874 Alexander travelled through Norway, Russia and Germany. In the following
winter he suffered from health problems and travelled to Algiers for a change of climate. His
other interests beside travelling were his collections of old letters, manuscripts, butterflies,
carriages, wine, miniatures and paintings. In May 1877 Queen Sophie became seriously ill. Her
death on the 3th of June was a great blow for 25-year-old Alexander. During the funeral cermony
he fell upon the coffin in tears, even kissing it. The King, however, was mainly irritated by all
words of prise for his hated wife. From then on, Alexander started collecting all things that
remembered him of his mother. When King Willem III proposed to sell Queen Sophie's juwels,
Alexander bought them for 75 000 guilders. After the funeral, Wiwill returned to Paris
immediately. Alexander had no one to fill the gab his mother had left behind. Over the years
Queen Sophie had tried to find suitable wives for both her sons, but all her efforts had come to
nothing. Around 1874 Wiwill himself had proposed a marriage with countess Mattie of
Limburg-Stirum (1854-1932). Although the government had consented to the marriage, King Willem
III (to the right) had refused his permission3. Early 1878, Alexander made some inquiries for a
possible marriage with Princess Friederike of Hannover (1848-1926), but she preferred a German
baron4. In September that year King Willem III announced his marriage to the 41-year-younger
Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1858-1934). Wiwill was furious because he was still not
allowed to marry Mattie, while Alexander was furious because his father had found a replacement
for his beloved mother5. Once, when Alexander was to have a meeting with his father in Noordeinde
Palace, he accidentally met his young stepmother. He bowed formally and gave her a hand-kissing.
Immediately afterwards, he angrily left the palace. From then on he refused to speak with his
father. Since his mother's death, Alexander's melancholy had increased. He wrote: "If happiness
on earth exits, it is not meant for me."6 The next year Wiwill became ill and Alexander (to the
right) travelled to Paris to visit him. After Wiwill's death on June 11, 1879, Alexander's
depression deepened further. The new Crown Prince withdrew into his residence at the Kneuterdijk.
With his friends7 Alexander kept contact through correspondence. His letters could be ironic, but
usually they were mainly tedious. He had inherited his father's assertiveness, but from his
mother he inherited a tendency to dramatise. When people started to critise him, because he
rarely appeared in public, he send a letter to a Newspaper to defend himself. Although few people
read his tedious epistle, the fact that a Prince had written a newspaper piece made all
headlines. In the summer of 1880 Alexander travelled through France and Switserland, when he
received tidings that his halfsister Wilhelmina had been born. He would never meet her. In 1881
he wanted to succeed his great uncle as grand master of the Dutch Freemasons. After much strife,
the next year he was chosen as the new grand master. On his mother's birthday, however, he
refused to preside a Freemason meeting. Soon rumours of an abdication started, because Alexander
was seriously annoyed by all criticism. In June 1883 Alexander visited as usual the royal vault
in Delft on the dying days of his mother and brother. From then on he refused to leave his
residence and kept the curtains closed. He filled his days with reading and tending his
collections. His health deteriorated. In the spring of 1884 he received General Weitzel2 in his
dressing-gown with a blanket around his shoulders. His skin was pale, he had scanty hair and his
body had become stout. By the end of May Alexander suffered from typhoid fever and diarrhoea. He
died on June 21, 1884. At that time, King Willem III was in the spa of Karsbad in Germany. He
announced 4 weeks of mourning, but remained abroad. It wasn't until July 17, that Crown Prince
Alexander was finally buried with his beloved death in the royal vault in Delft.

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