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Maria Amalia of Courland
Princess Maria Amalia of Courland (Maria Anna Amalia Kettler; 12 June 1653 – 16 June 1711) was a Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel by her marriage to Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. She was a daughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia and Margravine Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg. Her eldest son was King Frederick I of Sweden. One of her daughters was the most recent common ancestor of all the currently reigning monarchs of Europe from 1939 to 1941 and 1943 to 2022. LifeMaria Amalia was a daughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia (1610–1681) and his wife, Princess Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg (1617–1676). From 1658 to 1660, during the Northern Wars, Maria Amalia and her family were kept as prisoners by the invading Swedes in Riga and later in Ivangorod. She was first engaged to her first cousin William VII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1651–1670), but he died during his Grand Tour. She was then engaged to William's younger brother and heir, Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1654–1730), whom she married on 21 May 1673 in Kassel. As landgravine, she participated in the creation of the Karlsaue Park in Kassel. The Marmor fountain in the park contains a medallion by the French sculptor Pierre Etienne Monnot depicting Maria Amalia. In 1699, together with her son Maximilian, she bought Sensenstein Castle. She was described as modest, affable and pious. Maria Amalia died in 1711 and was buried in the Martinskirche of Kassel. The village of Mariendorf in Hesse, Germany was named in her memory. Issue Maria Amalia and her husband Charles had fourteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Their eldest surviving son, Frederick I succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, while also becoming King of Sweden; their second-eldest surviving son William VIII also became landgrave after his brother's death.
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