Maria Belgica of Portugal

Maria Belgica of Portugal, also known as Maria Belgica of Crato (born before 12 October 1598[1] – 28 July 1647), was the daughter of Manuel of Portugal, son of the self-proclaimed Portuguese king António of Crato, and Countess Emilia of Nassau (1569–1629), the youngest daughter of William of Orange.

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.

[3] 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The marriage was not a happy one, and a divorce was first approved and later rescinded by the government of Bern.

[3] Maria Belgica married Colonel Theodor Croll (died 1640 in Venice - stabbed to death), Quartermaster general of Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma, in June 1629.

Layers of Maria Belgia. The City of Vevey is the godmother of the child. Allegorical painting painted by Claude de Villarzel and given in 1631 to the City of Vevey (Vevey Historical Museum)