Through her mother, Marie was second-in-line to the Dutch throne after her nephew William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from 1900 to the birth of Princess Juliana in 1909. As her nephew was expected to abdicate his right to the throne in favor of retaining his title, Marie was expected to directly inherit the Dutch Crown upon the possible death of her still childless cousin Wilhelmina. The birth of Juliana subsequently changed the succession.
Biography
Portrait of August Allebé
The young princess studied painting and made a portrait of the popular teacher August Allebé in 1886, which indicates that she probably attended a few of his open studio lessons for ladies in Amsterdam, but also indicated that she had not given up painting after her marriage.
Marriage and issue
As a young girl, Marie and her cousin Princess Pauline were considered as possible brides for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom).[1] Nothing came of this however, as his mother Queen Victoria believed Marie's teeth to be "almost black";[1] both girls were considered nice, but "delicate and not pretty".[2] The prince later married Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
William Ernst however had stated repeatedly that he had no wish to inherit the throne if given the opportunity, as the Dutch constitution required that he would have to give up his title as Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.[3][4] Due to this fact, the heir to the Dutch throne would have become his aunt Marie followed by her eldest son Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz.[3][5] As her son was serving as a lieutenant in the German navy, concerns were raised by many (particularly the British and the French) of the dangers the Netherlands would be under - were a German prince with close ties to the Hohenzollern royal family to succeed to the Dutch throne - . One publication lamented that if the Queen were to remain childless, the Dutch Crown "was bound to pass into the possession of a German prince, whose birth, training, and affiliations would naturally have led him to bring Holland within the sphere of the German Empire, at the expense of her independence, both national and economic".[6][7] By the time of these events Princess Marie was an elderly widow with ill-health, and thus there was speculation that she herself would also give up her claim to the Dutch throne in favor of her eldest son, who was in his mid-twenties.[4]
In 1907, there were fears that Wilhelmina was going to abdicate in favor of her Saxe-Weimar cousins, as a clause in a recent legislative bill submitted to the Dutch parliament called for the exclusion from the succession of children born after the abdication of a sovereign.[5] Such fears were misplaced however, as Wilhelmina later elaborated that she had no wish of abdicating, and that the legislation was directed at the widowed and childless Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who, though well known to be considering giving up his claim to the throne, was considering marrying again; there would have been considerable confusion as a result were he to give up the succession claim in favor of his aunt Marie, only to later pass his claim onto any children he might have.[5]
Queen Wilhelmina suffered multiple miscarriages during her marriage, increasing speculation of the succession. The birth of Princess Juliana in 1909 put everyone's fears to rest, as the Dutch succession was now secured for another generation.
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