Maria Belgica of Portugal


Maria Belgica of Portugal, also known as Maria Belgica of Crato, was the daughter of Manuel of Portugal, son of the self-proclaimed Portuguese king António of Crato, and Countess Emilia of Nassau, the youngest daughter of William of Orange.

Life

Maria Belgica was born and raised in Delft. She must have been approximately 27-years-old when she moved to Geneva, Switzerland, with her mother and sisters. Soon after she arrived in Geneva she decided to return to The Hague to negotiate a stipend she was entitled to with her uncle Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and to request her inheritance from her aunt, Maria of Nassau, the Countess of Hohenlohe.
She negotiated a deal with her uncle and soon afterwards she returned to Geneva. Her mother died soon after Maria Belgica returned to her.
Maria Belgica married a colonel, Baron Croll, who originally came from Heidelberg, Germany, but had come to Geneva in the service of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach. The match was deemed unworthy of her, and her husband was seen as an opportunist. Croll was later given the title of Baron of Prangrins. The marriage was not a happy one, and a divorce was first approved and later rescinded by the government of Bern. Croll, however, was murdered in 1640 in Venice before any further decisions had been made. Maria Belgica died in Geneva in 1647. She was buried in the same chapel as her mother.

Marriage and issue

Maria Belgica married Colonel Theodor Croll, Quartermaster general of Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma, in June 1629. They had six children: