Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (31 August 1602 – 8 September 1675) was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent during his infirmity from 1640 to 1647. She also served as chair of the regency council during the minority of her grandson William III, Prince of Orange from 1650 until 1672.
Biography
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
thumb|left|Family portrait by [[Gerrit van Honthorst, 1647]]
thumb|Portrait by [[Rembrandt van Rijn, 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.