Amalia von Solms (1602–1675) was born in Braunfels, the third daughter of Count Johann Albrecht I of Solms-Braunfels, and became lady-in-waiting to the ‘Winter Queen’, Elizabeth Stuart, around 1615. When Elizabeth’s court-in-exile moved to The Hague, Amalia accompanied her mistress and a series of unexpected events led to her marriage in 1625 to the Dutch stadtholder Frederik Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau (1584–1647).

Amalia’s position allowed her to act as patroness of the arts and thus exert great influence over the development of a new court culture in The Hague. She also played a major role in the arranged marriages of her children and grandchildren, with her eldest son, Stadtholder Willem II van Oranje-Nassau (1625–1640), marrying Mary Stuart, Princess Royal (1631–1660), and her grandson, Stadtholder Willem III (1650–1702), the future king William III of England, marrying Mary Stuart II (1662–1694) (Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland). In addition, Amalia exercised great political influence over her husband and the impact of this continued to be felt in Dutch international relations even after his death. Although she held no formal position, her political weight was recognized by ambassadors, governors, and princely rulers alike.

While much of her correspondence has been lost, the letters that survive are primarily those exchanged between Amalia and her secretary Constantijn Huygens, who over a number of years reported daily on the health and mood of her husband and on progress in both military and political affairs. Following the death of Frederik Hendrik, Huygens remained in the service of the Oranje-Nassau family and in this position he corresponded frequently with Amalia, including with regard to the negotiations on the Principality of Oranje and about the tutelage of her grandson Willem III. Recently discovered sources — Amalia’s correspondence with Huygens and her archives in Dessau — have been described as ‘a political biography waiting to be written’. [Akkerman, 2014, p. 103]

• Nadine Akkerman, Courtly Rivals in The Hague. Elizabeth Stuart & Amalia von Solms (Venlo, 2014).
• Saskia Beranek, Power of the Portrait: Production, Consumption and Display of Portraits of Amalia van Solms in the Dutch Republic, unpublished PhD diss., University of Pittsburgh, 2013.
• J. N. Fernhout, Eindelijk weer samen. Inventaris van de archieven van stadhouder Willem II en Amalia van Solms en enige verwanten (The Hague, 2012).
• Ineke Huysman and Ad Leerintveld, ‘New perspectives of the digitized correspondence of Constantijn Huygens (1596–1687)’, Dutch Crossing, 38, 3 (2014), pp. 244–58.
• Marika Keblusek and Jori Zijlmans, eds, Princely Display: The Court of Frederik Hendrik of Orange and Amalia van Solms in The Hague (Zwolle and The Hague, 1997; translation of Vorstelijk Vertoon, 1997).
• Peter van der Ploeg and Carola Vermeeren, eds, Princely Patrons: The Collection of Frederick Henry of Orange and Amalia of Solms (Zwolle and The Hague, 1997; translation of Vorstelijk Verzameld, 1997).