Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate

Louise Hollandine
Abbess of Maubuisson
Self portrait by Louise Hollandine, princess Palatine
Abbess of Maubuisson
Reign	August 1664 – 11 February 1709
Predecessor	Catherine III Angélique
Successor	Charlotte II Joubert
Born	8 April 1622 Noordeinde Palace, The Hague, Dutch Republic
Died	11 February 1709(1709-02-11) (aged 86) Maubuisson Abbey, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, Kingdom of France
Burial	Maubuisson Abbey
Names Louise Hollandine
House	Palatine-Simmern
Father	Frederick V of the Palatinate
Mother	Elizabeth Stuart
Religion	Roman Catholic, prev. Protestant
Occupation	Portrait painter, abbess

Princess Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate (18 April 1622 – 11 February 1709) was a painter and abbess. She was a daughter of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and Scottish princess Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James VI and I. She is also known for her romantic involvement with the Marquess of Montrose.

Early life

Born in April 1622, Louise Hollandine was born at the Hague Palace in Holland, as her father was living in exile at the court of his uncle, Maurice, Prince of Orange. She was his sixth child and second daughter by his wife Princess Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of King James VI and I of England and sister of King Charles I. Her parents had lost their Electoral lands and the crown of Bohemia, resulting in exile. She was given the name Hollandine to show appreciation to Frederick's uncles, the Princes of Orange, for protecting the family in exile.^[1]

She studied primarily in Leiden at the 'Prinsenhof', and reportedly began drawing lessons at age six, and became devoted to portraiture.^[2] She was taught in the Calvinist tradition according to the Heidelberg Catechism.^[3]

Montrose romance

Louise is said to have had a love-affair with James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (originally Earl of Montrose), a Scottish Cavalier soldier and poet. Montrose, a revered national hero, won many outstanding military victories until ultimately being hanged, drawn and quartered in 1650.^[4]

Conversion

Self-portrait, 1650

For unknown reasons and to the dismay of her Protestant family, in December 1657 Louise fled to France with the assistance of her aunt by marriage Henrietta Maria of France and converted to the Roman Catholic faith. On 25 March 1659 she became a novice and on 19 September 1660 a nun in the Cistercian Maubuisson Abbey.^[5] With the support of King Louis XIV, she became Abbess of Maubuisson in August 1664. Her mother Elizabeth Stuart attempted to have Louise arrested and returned, and her conversion created lifelong animosity. Louise Hollandine was the only child to be left out of Elizabeth Stuart's will.^{[citation needed]} Her brother Edward supported her conversion, as he had converted to Catholicism and lived in France as well.^{[citation needed]}

In 1644, Louise painted this portrait of her sister, Sophia of Hanover.

Painting

Louise Hollandine was a talented portrait painter and graphic artist, a talent that she shared with her brother, Prince Rupert. She was student of Gerard van Honthorst and painted so ably in his style that some of her works were attributed to him.

As abbess, she continued painting and used her abbey's wealth and her family's lineage to make charitable donations to English Benedictine nuns, including a Madonna and Child painting she created in 1691, which was hung in the Lady Chapel.^[6]

As a painter, the princess is considered an "amateur". The portraits she painted are often in the Baroque style of Honthorst, but there are exceptions, which were likely not commissioned. Her works were generally kept within her family, and some can now be found in German museums.

• 
  Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1640-1660), 1650
• 
  Portrait of William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven
• 
  Dog (Boye or Puddle) said to belong to Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, Killed at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1643
• 
  Adam and Eve with Cain and Abel, 1660

Ancestry

Ancestors of Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate

16. Frederick III, Elector Palatine 8. Louis VI, Elector Palatine 17. Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 4. Frederick IV, Elector Palatine 18. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse 9. Elisabeth of Hesse 19. Christine of Saxony 2. Frederick V, Elector Palatine 20. William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen 10. William the Silent 21. Juliana of Stolberg-Werningerode 5. Louise Juliana of Nassau 22. Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier 11. Charlotte of Bourbon-Montpensier 23. Jacqueline de Longwy 1. Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate 24. Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox 12. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley 25. Margaret Douglas 6. James I of England, VI of Scotland 26. James V of Scotland 13. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland 27. Mary of Guise 3. Elizabeth Stuart 28. Christian III of Denmark 14. Frederick II of Denmark 29. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg 7. Anne of Denmark 30. Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 15. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 31. Elizabeth of Denmark

References

1. "Princess Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate". Madame Guillotine. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
2. Reid, Lindsay Ann (22 July 2019). "Louise Hollandine and the Art of Arachnean Critique" (PDF).
3. Kerstjens, Christopher A. (1 August 1999). "A Princely Painter: Princess Louise Hollandine of the PAlatinate, Abbess of Maubuisson". The Court Historian. 4 (2): 161–166. doi:10.1179/cou.1999.4.2.004. ISSN 1462-9712.
4. "When Risking Everything Meant Losing All: Who Was the Marquis of Montrose? | Montrose Associates - Strategic Intelligence, Strategic Advice". montroseassociates.biz. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
5. The former village of Maubuisson is now a part of the town of Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône in the Val-d'Oise department, north of Paris.^{[citation needed]}
6. MacKenzie, Niall (1 February 2007). "Jane Barker, Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate and 'Solomons Wise Daughter'". The Review of English Studies. 58 (233): 64–72. doi:10.1093/res/hgl142. ISSN 0034-6551.

External links

Regnal titles
Preceded by Catherine III	Abbess of Maubuisson 1667–1680	Succeeded by Charlotte II