337 years ago today, on February 7, 1688 (January 6, 1688, the lunar calendar), Mary Louis of Hesse-Kassel was born. Many articles have been written about European royal families. Queen Victoria was later called the European grandmother by arranging marriages between European royal families. In fact, before Queen Victoria, there was an unknown old grandmother, whose descendants are the ancestors of all European royal families today. And what Victoria did with nine children, she did with only two children. Today we will talk about this real grandmother who was older than Queen Victoria. Mary Louis of Hesse-Cassel was born on February 7, 1688. She was the ninth princess of Orange, the daughter of Charles I, Earl of Hesse-Cassel, and Maria Amelia of Curran. Mary Louis, the eleventh child of Charles I, was raised as a Protestant. Born in a noble family, Mary Louis was raised as the fiancee of John William Friso, Prince of Orange. However, it was not until she was 21 years old that Mary met the Prince who visited Kassel. Obviously, the meeting left a good impression on the Prince of Orange. At that time, there was actually one candidate for the princess. John William Friso's mother told him that he would choose one of the two girls as his wife. However, the prince settled on Mary Louis without even giving another candidate a chance to meet. On April 26, 1709, the Prince of Orange and Mary Louis were married in Kassel. Less than a month after their marriage, the Prince of Orange was involved in the War of Succession in Spain with the Princess's parents. In January of the following year, Mary Louis went to Leeuvarden (the Dutch province of Friesland, which belongs to the Prince of Orange) and found herself pregnant. On October 2, 1710, their first child, Anna Charlotte Amalia Luis, was born. Mary was unlucky. The Prince of Orange died in a shipwreck on July 14, 1711. Mary was more than seven months pregnant. On September 1, she gave birth to a baby boy, named William Carril Hendrick Friso. When this child was born, he became the Prince of Orange, and he was William IV. Mary had a very depressed year because not only did she lose her husband, but her mother also passed away. And her lost son's mother-in-law, Henrietta Amalia of Anhalt Dessau, did not let her idle, competing with Mary for the Regent of Orange-because William IV was too young. Fortunately, Mary's reputation for becoming regent was higher than her mother-in-law. Although she had little experience, she was more qualified. However, Mary's situation is still very difficult. She is now a 23-year-old widow and regent and faces many difficulties. For example, she has very little income, but her expenses are huge and she is in high debt. As a result, she had to turn to her father for help. Seeing that she couldn't snatch her daughter-in-law, her mother-in-law had no choice but to return to Germany. Mary raised her two children alone, but their lives were not very smooth. In 1727, Mary and her two children (from which all European royalty came), the eldest daughter Anna married Frederick of Baden-Durach, and they also had two children. But Anna developed hypochondriac after the birth of her second child, and her condition deteriorated very quickly. She seemed crazy, talking to herself all day long, hysterical and aggressive, and could not recognize any acquaintances. Doctors could not cure her, and finally, she died of illness in 1777. As for William IV, he came of age in 1731 and Mary officially returned to power. Prior to this, she held a grand and ornate wedding for him and Princess Anne, the eldest daughter of King George II of England. However, William IV died earlier than Mary, and he died in The Hague in 1751. At this time, his son, Mary's grandson William, succeeded to the throne and became William V. When William V inherited the throne of the Prince of Orange, he was only 3 years old and was also an infant lord. Princess Anne became the regent. But she did not reign long. In 1759, Princess Anne died, and William V was still too young, so Mary was called back as regent until 1765, when Mary died of a stroke. Her grandson William V was still one year away from adulthood, and her eldest sister Princess Carolina became regent for another year. When Mary lived in Leeuvarden, she was deeply respected and loved by the local people. After her death, she was buried in Grotcock, Leeuvarden, and was affectionately known as "Aunt Mary". On the 250th anniversary of her death (2015), Leeuvalden held several exhibitions and lectures about her, with the theme of her as the "Old Grandma of Europe." Speaking of which, she is the ancestor of contemporary European royalty, including the current Queen Elizabeth II of England. Why is she the grandmother of European royalty? Let's explain: Queen Elizabeth II of England, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Henry, Duke of Luxembourg, are the sons of Mary and descendants of William IV; Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and Prince Albert II of Monaco are descendants of Mary's daughter Princess Amalia; King Wilhelm Alexander of the Netherlands, King Philip of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, Felipe VI of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, and King Mihai I of Romania (died in 2017) are descendants of both King William IV and Princess Amalia. In addition, the kings (emperors) of Albania, Austro-Hungary, Bavaria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, and Yugoslavia, who are no longer inherited, are also her descendants. The blood of European royal families goes by and asks if you are afraid.