Princess Henriette
Duchess of Vendôme
Born(1870-11-30)30 November 1870
Brussels, Belgium
Died28 March 1948(1948-03-28) (aged 77)
Sierre, Valais, Switzerland
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1896; died 1931)​
Issue
Names
French: Henriette Marie Charlotte Antoinette
Dutch: Henriëtte Maria Charlotte Antonia
HouseSaxe-Coburg and Gotha
FatherPrince Philippe, Count of Flanders
MotherPrincess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
SignaturePrincess Henriette's signature

Princess Henriette of Belgium (30 November 1870 – 28 March 1948), was the daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern. She was the younger twin sister of Princess Joséphine Marie of Belgium, who died at the age of six weeks in 1871. She was the eldest sister of King Albert I of Belgium.

Marriage and family

Belgian Royalty
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Leopold I
Children
Grandchildren
Leopold II
Children
Albert I
Children
Leopold III
Children
Baudouin
Albert II
Children
Grandchildren
Philippe
Children

Henriette was married in Brussels, Belgium, on 12 February 1896 to Prince Emmanuel d'Orléans, Duke of Vendôme (18 January 1872 – 1 February 1931). He was a son of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon, and Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria, and thus a great-grandson of King Louis Philippe I of France.

The couple had four children:

Life

Henriette was a great sportswoman, and was often considered the best shot among the Belgian royal women.[1] On one occasion, she killed a stag that had already killed another, making her very popular in Belgian sporting circles. She even earned the sobriquet the "Sporting Duchess". In 1908, she accompanied her husband to the Rocky Mountains in the United States to shoot grizzly bears.[1]

Henriette often completed royal engagements for her brother King Albert. In 1914 for instance, she visited a hospital in Neuilly that was treating American troops.[2] In two letters, Henriette and her sister-in-law Queen Elisabeth expressed their appreciation and asked for more support from the American Commission For Relief in Belgium, which had been giving donations to the Belgian people ever since the German invasion.[3]

Henriette Marie of Belgium died aged 77, on 28 March 1948, in Sierre, Valais, Switzerland.[4]

Honours

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ a b "Leopold's Niece to Hunt Grizzlies", The New York Times, Berlin, 17 July 1908, retrieved 8 January 2010
  2. ^ "Visit From King's Sister", The New York Times, Paris, 17 November 1914, retrieved 8 January 2010
  3. ^ "'Send More Relief, Begs Belgian Queen", The New York Times, Brussels, 8 December 1914, retrieved 8 January 2010
  4. ^ 19-20th Cent. Princess Henriette Marie of Belgium, Duchess of Vendôme. http://ann-lauren.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/19-20th-cent-princess-henriette-marie.html
  5. ^ Nieuws Van Den Dag (Het) 02-10-1900
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