A royal wedding in Leipzig with an unhappy ending

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In Leipzig a royal wedding took place on 24 August 1561. Then William (Willem)I,
Prince of Orange married to Anna of Saxony. 


Who was who?

Anna of Saxony was the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony and Agnes of 
Hesse.  She was a member of the House of Wettin.

William of Orange, also called the Silent, was the son of William, Count of 
Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode. William the Silent was known
for his revolt against King Philip II of Spain. 


Between Germany and The Netherlands and an 
unhappy marriage

On 1 September 1561, William I, Prince of Orange and his new wife relocated to 
The Netherlands. 

Only a few months after the wedding, the royal couple already had problems. 
After the death of her first son, Maurice, in 1566, Anna had a huge depression. She
tried to forget her grieve with a large alcohol consumption. 

In 1567, William was forced to exile The Netherlands due to his opposition of the
Habsburgs. He moved to Dillenburg in Germany. This was the German headquarters
of the family. On 15 November 1567 she got another son, named Maurice too. 

In 1568, William went back to Brabant and Anna decided to leave Dillenburg with
her court. She moved to Cologne. Her daughter Emilia was born on 10 April 1569
in Cologne. Later Emilia would marry to Manuel of Portugal. 

William was forced out of The Netherlands in 1569 by the Duke of Alba and
King Philip II of Spain. He left Germany and wanted to search support in France 
with the Huguenots. 

An affair

Anna tried to force the Duke of Alba to return their confiscated goods. She 
employed a lawyer: Jan Rubens, the father of the painter, Pieter Paul Rubens. 

In June 1570, William and Anna and their family moved to Siegen in Germany. 
It was there that she started an affair with her lawyer: Jan Rubens. 

Between 7 and 10 March 1571 Jan Rubens was suspected of adultery with Anna 
of Saxony, the wife of William the Silent. He was arrested outside the city of
Siegen when he was on his way to see her. 

Anna was put under pressure: she must confess her adultery with Jan Rubens or
he would be executed. Anna agreed and on 26 March 1971 she was found guilty.

On 22 August 1571, Anna's daughter Christine was born. William the Silent didn't
recognize her as his daughter. On 14 December 1571, Anna separated from her
husband. William was not willing to pay maintenance for her. Anna was declared
to have Insanity. All her children were taken away from her. 


Death

Anna spent the remainder of her life in a room with bricked-up windows in the
palace of the Saxon Elector in Dresden. There she died due to neglect and 
exhaustion. This took place on 18 December 1577.  She was buried in Meissen.

William the Silent already remarried on 24 June 1575 to Charlotte of Bourbon.
 




Source picture: Wikipedia

Location: Leipzig, Duitsland

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