Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange

Anne of Hanover, princess of Orange-Nassau by Bernard Accama (1736)
Anne of Hanover, princess of Orange-Nassau by Bernard Accama (1736)

British Royalty
House of Hanover

George I
Children
   George II
   Princess Sophia Dorothea
George II
Children
   Prince Frederick
   Princess Anne
   Princess Amelia Sophia
   Princess Caroline Elizabeth
   Prince William
   Princess Mary
   Princess Louise
Grandchildren
   Princess Augusta Charlotte
   George III
   Prince Edward Augustus
   Princess Elizabeth Caroline
   Prince William Henry
   Prince Henry
   Princess Caroline Matilda
Great Grandchildren
   Princess Sophia
   Prince William
George III
Children
   George IV
   Prince Frederick
   William IV
   Princess Charlotte
   Prince Edward Augustus
   Princess Augusta Sophia
   Princess Elizabeth
   Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
   Prince Augustus Frederick
   Prince Adolphus
   Princess Mary
   Princess Sophia
   Princess Amelia
Grandchildren
   Princess Charlotte
   Princess Elizabeth
   Victoria
   George V, King of Hanover
   Prince George
   Princess Augusta
   Princess Mary Adelaide
George IV
Children
   Princess Charlotte
William IV
   Princess Charlotte
   Princess Elizabeth
Victoria

Princess Anne of Orange, Princess Royal and Princess of Hanover, Princess-Regent of Friesland (2 November 1709–12 January 1759) was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Queen Caroline. She was the wife of Prince Willem IV of Orange-Nassau, the first hereditary stadholder of the Netherlands (11 September 1711–22 October 1751). Princess Anne was the second daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.

Early life

Princess Anne of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg was born at Schloss Herrenhausen, Hanover, five years before her paternal grandfather, the Elector Georg Ludwig, succeeded to the British throne as King George I. Upon her grandfather's ascension in 1714, it became established practice that the legitimate children and the male-line grandchildren of a British Sovereign would be titled prince or princess of Great Britain and Ireland and styled Royal Highness; great grandchildren in the male line would be prince or princess of Great Britain and Ireland and styled Highness. Her father became king on 11 June 1727. On 30 August of that year, George II created his eldest daughter Princess Royal. King Charles I first bestowed this title on his eldest daughter, Princess Mary of Orange (the mother of William III of England), in 1642. However, the title fell from use until the reign of George II. (Princess Anne became Princess Royal during the lifetime of her aunt, Queen Sophia Dorothea of Prussia, who had been eligible for this honor but did not receive it.)

Later life

When her husband died in 1751, Anne was appointed regent for her 3-year-old son William. She was at first a good leader in the government with her quick decision-making skills, but she later became tyrannical and unpredictable. She continued to act as regent until her death in 1759, when she was replaced by her mother-in-law. When her mother-in-law also died, her daughter Carolina was made regent until William V turned 18 in 1766.

The Princess Royal died at The Hague, Netherlands.

Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms

Titles

  • 1709-1714: Her Serene Highness Princess Anne of Hanover
  • 1714-1727: Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Hanover and Wales
  • 1727: Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne
  • 1727-1759: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

Issue

The Prince and Princess of Orange-Nassau had a stillborn son in 1735 and two stillborn daughters in 1736 and 1739, respectively. They also had a daughter, Anna (1726), who died in infancy. Their other children were:

Name Birth Death Notes
Carolina, Princess-Regent of Friesland 28 February 1743 6 May 1787 married 1760, Karl Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg; had issue
Willem V (Batavus) 8 March 1748 9 April 1806 married 1767, Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia; had issue

Princess Royal
dates they were Princess Royal in brackets

Mary Stuart (1642-1660) | Anne of Orange (1727-1759) | Charlotte (1766-1828)
Victoria (1841-1901) | Louise (1905-1931) | Mary (1932-1965) | Anne (1987-)

 


Most of Wikipedia's text and many of its images are licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-SA)

Return to Main Index