Some information on Empress Amalia Wilhelmine:
In 1651 her father, Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, had become a Catholic and when, in 1679, he died he had only daughters surviving him. Wilhelmine Amalie was only six when her father died and at first was educated by her mother, Benedikta Henriette. Then she was taken to the convent Maubuisson where her great-aunt, Louise Hollandine, was the abbess. Wilhelmine Amalie was very much affected by her religious upbringing and, although beautiful, became too serious and religious.
In 1693 she returned to Hannover where several prominent dukes were hoping to marry her. However, despite the opposition of Empress Eleonore and her brother, Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm, the future Emperor Josef I made her his wife. But then, after a few very happy years, the serious minded Wilhelmine Amalie was not able to keep the lively Josef at her side and their marriage became strained.
Nevertheless, they became the parents of three children, born within the first three years of their marriage, but then there were no more because Josef had infected her with a venereal disease.
After an initial influence of the Houses of Hannover and Modena these soon lost their importance. Politically Wilhelmine Amalie sided with her mother-in-law and they even founded their own little court party. However, in 1711, Wilhelmine Amalie's husband died and she was no longer involved with politics, except for the promotion of her two daughters. Her brother-in-law, Emperor Karl VI, proclaimed the Pragmatic Sanction, which placed his own daughters before those of his
deceased brother, Emperor Josef. At first she fought against this and counted on the support of her two sons-in-law, the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, but gave up when the Austrian court did not support her.
In 1717 she founded the Salesianer Convent 'Heimsuchung Mariae' in Vienna and, in 1722, took her residence there and followed the religious life. In 1740, after the sudden death of Emperor Karl VI, both her sons-in-law decided to claim the Imperial office. At first they had the support of Wilhelmine Amalie but, when the Bavarians started to prepare for war, she sided with her niece, Maria Teresa. On 10 April 1742 she died in the convent and was buried in the Kapuzinergruft in Vienna.
Source: Worldroots
