Marie Luise von Degenfeld
Encyclopedia
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
second wife of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
. Created Raugräfin von der Pfalz ("Countess of uninhabited or uncultivated lands") in 1667, she had thirteen children with Charles Louis, all of whom were known as the "Raugraves" of the Palatinate.
Born Maria Susanne Luise von Degenfeld in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, she was the daughter of a baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
, Martin Christopher von Degenfeld. In 1650 she arrived as a servant
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
to the household of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
. He was the second son of Frederick V
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
, the "Winter King", and Princess Elizabeth of Scotland
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, daughter of James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
and granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Luise caught his eye, and they were married in 1658, after Charles Louis unilaterally divorced his wife, Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel was the consort of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and mother of Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate...
. Luise was given the unique title of Raugravine of the Palatinate (Raugräfin von der Pfalz, related to countess, but implying jurisdiction over uninhabited lands), and their children were known as the Raugraves and Raugravines of the Palatinate.
They had thirteen children in total, eight of whom survived beyond childhood. The only one of her children to marry and have children was her daughter the Raugravine Caroline, who married Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg
Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg
Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster, KG was a general in the service of Prince William of Orange, later King William III of England.-Military career:...
. Four of Luise's sons were killed in battle, and one was killed in a duel.
She died in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
.
Children
Luise married Charles I Louis, Elector PalatineCharles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
, born December 22, 1617, on January 6, 1658 in Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of...
. Their children were:
- Charles Louis (15 October 1658 – 12 August 1688), killed in actionKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
; - Caroline Elisabeth (19 November 1659 – 28 June 1696), married Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of SchombergMeinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of SchombergMeinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster, KG was a general in the service of Prince William of Orange, later King William III of England.-Military career:...
, had four children, including Frederica Mildmay, Countess of Mértola; - Louise (25 January 1661 – 6 February 1733);
- Louis (born and died 1662);
- Amalie Elisabeth (1 April 1663 – 13 July 1709);
- George Louis (30 March 1664 – 20 July 1665);
- Frederica (7 July 1665 – 7 August 1674);
- Frederick William (25 November 1666 – 29 July 1667);
- Charles Edward (19 May 1668 – 2 January 1690);
- Sophia (born and died 1669);
- Charles Maurice (9 January 1671 – 13 June 1702);
- Charles August (19 October 1672 – 20 September 1691), killed in actionKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
; - Charles Casimir (1 May 1675 – 28 April 1691), killed in actionKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
.