Early life Amalia was born in
Braunfels as a fourth daughter of
Imperial Count Johann Albrecht I of
Solms-Braunfels (1563-1623) and his wife, Countess Agnes of
Sayn-Wittgenstein (1568-1617). She was a member of the
House of Solms, a ruling family with
Imperial immediacy, and spent her childhood at
Braunfels Castle. She became part of the court of
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, wife of
Frederick V of the Palatine, the "Winter King" of Bohemia. After imperial forces defeated Frederick V, she fled from Prague with the pregnant queen to the west. Shelter was denied to them along the way because the emperor forbade it as Frederick had been placed under an Imperial ban. Elizabeth went into labour during their flight and Amalia helped her with her delivery of Prince Maurice at Küstrin castle. The end of their journey was
The Hague, where
stadtholder Maurice, Prince of Orange, uncle of the elector gave them asylum in 1621. They often appeared at his court, where Maurice's younger half-brother
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange became infatuated with Amalia in 1622. She refused to become his
lover and held out for marriage. The two were closely related, in particular, first cousins once removed. When Maurice of Nassau died, he made his half-brother Frederick Henry promise to wed. Frederick married Amalia on 4 April 1625.
Wife to the Stadtholder , 1647 , 1632 When Frederick Henry became stadtholder after the death of his half-brother Prince Maurice, his influence grew substantially, as did Amalia's. Together Frederick Henry and Amalia succeeded in expanding court life in The Hague. They had several palaces built, including
Huis ten Bosch. Amalia was a great collector of art and amassed many jewels, which were inherited by her four surviving daughters. She was described as intelligent, arrogant and ambitious, not beautiful but with a fresh and appealing appearance. Amalia was the prime mover of several royal marriages, including that of her son William II to
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (daughter of King
Charles I of England) and of their daughters with several German princes. The relationship between Amalia and Frederik Hendrik was described as happy, and Amalia is acknowledged to have acted as his political adviser. Her
de facto political position was acknowledged and diplomats, aware of this, tried to influence her decisions by costly presents. It was reportedly Amalia who was behind Frederik Hendrik's participation in the negotiations which was eventually to result in the
Peace of Münster of 1648. As a recognition, King
Philip IV of Spain granted her the seigniory and castle of
Turnhout in 1649. In 1647, her spouse died and was succeeded as stadtholder and Prince of Orange by their son
William II, Prince of Orange.
Regency After the death of her son William II in 1650, her grandson
William III (Prince William III of Orange and later also King William III of England) became prince of Orange. A regency council was appointed during his minority, and Amalia and her former daughter-in-law Mary Stuart fought over guardianship and thereby chairmanship of the regency council; the High Court of Holland and Zeeland finally granted both Mary and Amalia shared guardianship, and thereby shared part in the regency council of Orange. Amalia was supported against Mary by her son-in-law, the Elector of Brandenburg, and she was on good terms with the
Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, a relationship which did not change with the
Act of Seclusion of 1654, barring the prince from all ancestral offices. When Mary died in 1660, Amalia in practice took sole control of the regency of her grandson. She maintained good relations to De Witt even by the passing of the
1667 Eternal Edict, which abolished the office of stadholder entirely. During this time she lived in the Oude Hof on the Noordeinde, maintaining her court and diplomatic contacts with royalty. In 1672, her grandson was declared an adult and his regency council thereby dismissed. Amalia retired and witnessed him becoming stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel and captain-general of the Union. She died at her home in
The Hague, aged 73. == Tributes ==