“Our wishes have been granted, my dearest William. Your mother happily gave birth yesterday morning at four o’clock, and she has given you a little sister. Your mother is doing as well as can be under such circumstances and is very happy, especially since the little one is in good health and shows promise for the rest of her life.”1
On 9 May 1810, Princess Marianne of Orange-Nassau was born as the daughter of William VI, Prince of Orange, and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. Her father would become King William I of the Netherlands in 1815, but in 1810, the family was still living in exile. As such, Princess Marianne was born in the Niederländisches Palais in Berlin. She was their fourth child to survive early infancy, although her elder sister, Pauline, had died in 1806 at the age of 6. When Marianne was born, only her two elder brothers, the future King William II (born 1792) and Prince Frederick (born 1797), were still alive. Due to the significant age difference, it would be four years before she was able to hug her eldest brother for the first time. Shortly after her birth, the family was visited by her uncle and aunt, the King and Queen of Prussia.2
Marianne was baptised on 31 May 1810 in the Niederländisches Palais while in the arms of her grandmother, also called Wilhelmina of Prussia. Once again, the King and Queen of Prussia were present, but Queen Louise would tragically die two months later.
Things were soon looking up for the family, and Napoleon was now fighting a losing battle. Soon, there were calls for the family to return to the Netherlands and on 30 November 1813, William landed at Scheveningen. Their sons returned separately. As did Wilhelmina and Marianne, who returned to the Netherlands via Arnhem at the end of 1813. They returned to living at Noordeinde Palace. On 30 March 1814, Marianne’s father was inaugurated as Sovereign Prince in Amsterdam with her two brothers by his side. Just one year later, the Low Countries were united into a single kingdom, and William became the Netherlands’ first king. On 16 March 1815, William proclaimed himself King, and shortly after, he and Wilhelmina departed for Brussels. Their eldest son was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo, and Wilhelmina responded, “Like a Spartan woman,” and rushed to be by his side.3
William and Wilhelmina had a soft spot for young Marianne, and she had them wrapped around her finger. The loss of Pauline had been very difficult, and Marianne was now also basically the only child left at home. This might have meant that she grew up to be spoiled, but she still received a strict education. Marianne received lessons from a tutor named Catharina van Ulft and her governess, Countess Bentinck-van Reede. She was a good student, but remained awful at spelling in whatever language she learned. Even her grandmother commented, “My little Marianne shows signs of great intelligence, but she speaks too many languages to do any of them well.”4
At the age of 16, her education was considered to be complete, and her confirmation into the Reformed Church finalised this. This took place on 15 September 1826 in the chapel of the Loo Palace. Soon, there were several suitors for her hand in marriage and the first one almost to make it was Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden, the son of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Frederica of Baden. His father had been forced to abdicate when he was ten years old. In 1826, the newly formed Bernadotte dynasty now reigned in Sweden. Gustav’s uncertain status seemed to work in his favour when it came to Marianne. If they married, Marianne could stay close to her parents. Gustav was duly invited to Princess Marianne’s 18th birthday in 1828.
They met on her birthday, and although it did not appear to have been love at first sight, they seemed to get along well enough. From 20 to 24 May, he stayed with Marianne and her parents at the Loo Palace. He returned on 17 June for the official engagement. However, the newspapers had caught onto the news and wildly speculated over the possible political consequences. Some mentioned the possible involvement of the Russian Emperor, which made her elder brother, the Prince of Orange, particularly unhappy, as he was married to the sister of the Russian Emperor. He wrote a letter to Gustav, telling him how much he was against the match with his sister. His parents and sister were shocked by the letter, but they did not doubt his good intentions. William wrote back that he had never intended to hurt his sister.
Prince Gustav wrote to the Prince of Orange, “The message from Your Royal Highness that His Majesty the King has conveyed to me has deeply surprised and deeply affected me, especially as it contrasts so sharply with all the feelings that guided me in my engagement with Her Royal Highness Princess Marianne. I therefore feel compelled, my Prince, to assure Your Royal Highness that I entered into this engagement without any political considerations. Far removed from any intrigue and standing in my right, Your Royal Highness, I place my trust in God.”5 The Prince of Orange was not able to stop the engagement, and it went ahead on 25 June 1828 with the agreement that they would spend half the year in the Netherlands and the other half in Vienna.
The new King of Sweden, Charles XIV John, was very displeased with the engagement, and he made it clear that the title of Prince of Sweden no longer belonged to Gustav. Many other countries still recognised the title Gustav had received at birth, and even the Swedish Crown Prince thought his father was overreacting by claiming to break diplomatic ties. Prince Gustav’s representative wrote, “If His Royal Highness had not been entitled to bear his family name, he would never have asked for the hand of Her Royal Highness Princess Marianne. As Prince Gustav of Sweden, he tried his luck. As such, his proposal was accepted, and it was in this capacity that he was mentioned in the marriage contract.”6 If Gustav was not a Prince of Sweden, what would Marianne be called after their wedding? Problems seemed to be piling up.
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