Editing Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (section)

==Marriage==
[[File:Queen Wilhelmina & Juliana.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Queen Wilhelmina and her daughter [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Juliana]], circa 1914]]
On 7 February 1901 in The Hague, Queen Wilhelmina married [[Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]. Although she was devoted to her spouse at the time of their wedding, it proved in the long run to be an unhappy marriage that did little more than meet its obligation by producing an heir. Prince Henry was known to have had numerous extra-marital affairs, at least one of which resulted in illegitimate offspring. On 9 November, nine months after her marriage, Wilhelmina suffered a miscarriage. On 4 May 1902, she gave birth to a premature [[stillborn]] son. This may have been an abortion, needed to save her life after a [[Typhoid fever|typhoid]] infection.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5379059/wilhelmina-abortus-juliana-tyfus-infectie-bevalling |title=Hoogleraar heeft aanwijzingen voor abortus bij Wilhelmina: 'Monarchie hing aan zijden draadje'|trans-title=Professor has indication for abortion Wilhelmina: Monarchy was hanging by a thread|website=[[RTL Nieuws]]|date=19 April 2023 |language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/book/1603/egg-foetus-baby |title=Egg Foetus Baby, A New History of Pregnancy |first=Trudy|last=Dehue |website=Dutch foundation for literature |access-date=6 December 2023 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317003500/https://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/book/1603/egg-foetus-baby |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her next pregnancy ended in another miscarriage on 23 July 1906.<ref name="geocities.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.ws/henrivanoene/gennetherlands.html|title=Genealogy of the Royal Family of the Netherlands|publisher=Geocities.com|access-date=4 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011024926/http://www.geocities.ws/henrivanoene/gennetherlands.html|archive-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> During this time Wilhelmina's [[heir presumptive]] was her first cousin once removed [[William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]]. Next in line was her cousin [[Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach|Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]].

As it was assumed that the former would renounce his claim to the Dutch throne and that the latter was too elderly to become queen, Marie Alexandrine's eldest son, German [[Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz]], stood in line to succeed Wilhelmina if she had no surviving children. Prince Heinrich had close associations with the German Imperial family and military, so there were fears that were the Queen 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 [sic] within the sphere of the German Empire, at the expense of its independence, both national and economic", according to one contemporary publication.<ref name=wp1>{{Citation
| title      = Were A Monarch To Fall Dead
| newspaper  = The Washington Post
| date       = 7 May 1905
}}</ref> The birth of Princess [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Juliana]], on 30 April 1909, was met with great relief after eight years of her childless marriage.<ref>[http://www.rnw.nl/obituary/en/html/juliana.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114172147/http://www.rnw.nl/obituary/en/html/juliana.html|date=14 January 2006}}</ref> Wilhelmina, who formed a close relationship with her daughter, suffered two further miscarriages on 23 January and 20 October 1912.<ref name="geocities.com"/>