Princess Louise of Prussia (1770-1836)
Encyclopedia
Princess Frederica Dorothea Louise Philippine of Prussia (24 May 1770 - 7 December 1836) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern
. She was the second daughter and third child of Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, younger brother of Frederick the Great, by his wife and niece Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
.
Louise and her husband Prince Antoni Radziwiłł were popular for their patronage of music, as well as their prominent positions in Berlin society. Louise is also notable for being the mother of Elisabeth Radziwill
, the childhood love of future German Emperor Wilhelm I, whose strong desire to marry her was thwarted out of considerations for Elisabeth's inequality of rank.
(the Palace of the Order of Saint John, of which her father was head) at Berlin
to Prince Augustus Ferdinand and Princess Elisabeth Louise
of Prussia
; her biological father may actually have been Count Friedrich Wilhelm Carl von Schmettau.
Her birth was a disappointment to her family, as at the time her elder brother Prince Friedrich Heinrich was the only heir to the Hohenzollern throne of her uncle Frederick the Great
. Despite this, her father was devoted to her, lavishing attention, while her mother showed little affection for her. Her family would eventually come to hold seven siblings, two girls and five boys. They lived at the Friedrichsfelde
estate in Berlin.
As she became older, she was given a Lutheran governess, Frau von Bielfeld; her daughter Lisette was three years older, and served as a companion to Louise. Lisette got her interested in romantic novels long before many other girls her age. Bielfeld was highly educated, but died after only five years, in October 1782. Despite Frau von Bielfeld's attention to education, Louise's studies were much neglected, and she forgot much of what had been taught her. As a consequence, Bielfeld left shortly before she died, and was replaced with her approval by a new thirty-year-old governess from the countryside, Fraulein von Keller; Louise and Keller soon formed a strong attachment. Previously, Bielfeld had found it easier to complete Louise's schoolwork and show it to her parents, thus ending in little real improvement and understanding on Louise's part. Keller on the other hand was less educated and in need of instruction, consequently imbuing in Louise a taste for study.
. The Elector sent an ambassador to Friedrichsfelde in 1785, most likely to inspect Louise's general appearance and character. In the end however, Louise was considered too young, as Prince Max had wanted to marry her within the year; her father conversely refused to part from her until she was eighteen. Max soon afterwards married Landgravine Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
instead.
Another possible candidate was Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
, the second son of George III of the United Kingdom
, who traveled to Berlin in 1786 to attend military maneuvers
; nothing came of this however, and it was rumored that he had instead been interested in Louise's cousin Princess Frederika Wilhelmina
. By her own admission, Louise remarked of the York affair, "Lacking charm and elegance, awkward from excessive shyness, I was poorly equipped to supplant my cousin. The Duke [was] a very handsome man...". Frederick later married another relative of Louise's, Princess Frederika Charlotte, who was the daughter of her cousin Frederick William II of Prussia
.
Her cousin Frederick William II of Prussia
also gave his consent, pleased that the couple planned to settle in Berlin. As arrangements for their betrothal were underway however, Frederick William, having speedily and happily agreed to their marriage, surprisingly delayed his correspondence for several days. When he finally sent a letter, it read that "Prince Anton not being of a sovereign house, he could not sanction a ceremonial betrothal". Louise's parents were bitterly wounded, and blamed one of his advisers for this change of opinion. In a later letter, the king stated his support for the marriage, but had felt himself bound by his ministers' attentions to traditional etiquette and ceremony.
In 1796 Louise was duly happily married to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł. Though his family possessed wealth and rank, the marriage was nonetheless considered unequal to be matched with the House of Hohenzollern.
The Swedish Princess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp described the couple and the contemporary view around the marriage in Berlin at the time of her visit in 1798:
The couple had seven children:
in Berlin. Louise was a happy wife, and the couple's soirees and banquets were said to be more entertaining than anything at the Prussian court. Anton, himself an excellent musician, patronized the best artists of the day; Louise warmly shared in all his interests. One visitor commented on their young family in Berlin:
Louise, like many other high rank ladies of the day, visited hospitals, treating soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars
; sacrifices were also made by Louise and her family, such as the removal of all travel to and from Berlin, as all horses were sent to the Prussian army.
In 1815, Louise's husband was appointed Duke-Governor of the Grand Duchy of Posen, where he moved with his family. Louise partook in various social causes. Antoni's administration was unsuccessful and near powerless at preventing the Germanisation
of the region, as he was caught between his Polish subjects and Prussian authorities. Shortly after the outbreak of the November Uprising
he was deprived of all the powers, the Grand Duchy was abolished and its autonomy was cancelled. It was directly incorporated into Prussia and renamed the Province of Posen
. Antoni returned to his palace in Berlin, where he died on April 7, 1833. He was buried in the Poznań Cathedral. His children with Louise were Germanised and never returned to Poznań; however, as owners of the manor Nieborów
near Warsaw
and huge family estates in today's Belarus, they paid frequent visits to other parts of Poland. Louise died three years after her husband, on 7 December 1836.
faith. The children were closely brought up alongside their Hohenzollern cousins, as they were similar in age; their eldest son became the playmate of Prince Wilhelm, future Emperor of Germany. Wilhelm lived for sometime in Konigsburg
and became greatly attached to their daughter Eliza, as she was a comfort to him during the loss of his mother in 1810; as he became older, Wilhelm desired to marry her. To boost her suitableness, there were talks of Eliza being adopted by the childless Alexander I of Russia
or by her uncle Prince Augustus of Prussia
, but both plans failed to win the support of all parties involved. Learned men of the Prussian court also attempted to trace her ancestry in the hopes of discovering her relation to Polish kings; this failed when others denied the claims of royal Polish ancestry. Their wish for marriage was thus denied by King Frederick William III
, as she was considered of insufficient rank despite her mother's birth. Adoption to them would have been unsuitable as it would not change "the blood" of Eliza. Another factor was the influence of the Mecklenburg
relations of the deceased Queen Louise
in the German and Russian courts, who were not fond of Elisa's father and against the possible marriage. Furthermore, Elisa was considered not sufficiently royal because her father was not a reigning prince.
Thus, in June 1826, Wilhelm's father felt forced to demand the renunciation of a potential marriage to Elisa. Wilhelm spent the next few months looking for a more suitable bride, but did not relinquish his emotional ties to Elisa. He was sent off to the Weimar court to look for a suitable wife, where he wed Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, fourteen years his junior on 11 June 1829. This marriage would prove to be unhappy. Wilhelm saw his cousin, Elisabeth, for the last time in 1829. She died of tuberculosis
five years later, unmarried.
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. She was the second daughter and third child of Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, younger brother of Frederick the Great, by his wife and niece Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Margravine Anna Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt was a Prussian princess. She was a daughter of Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt and his wife Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia.-Family:...
.
Louise and her husband Prince Antoni Radziwiłł were popular for their patronage of music, as well as their prominent positions in Berlin society. Louise is also notable for being the mother of Elisabeth Radziwill
Elisabeth Radziwill
Elisa or Elisabeth Radziwill Elisa Friederike Luise Martha was a member of Polish-Lithuanian high nobility of royal ancestry who was the desired bride of the Prince who later became Wilhelm I, German Emperor.-Relationship with Prince Wilhelm of Prussia:Elisa was a daughter of Prince Anton...
, the childhood love of future German Emperor Wilhelm I, whose strong desire to marry her was thwarted out of considerations for Elisabeth's inequality of rank.
Early life
HRH Princess Louise was born on May 24, 1770, in the OrdenspalaisOrdenspalais
The Ordenspalais was a building on the northern corner of Wilhelmplatz with Wilhelmstraße in Berlin ....
(the Palace of the Order of Saint John, of which her father was head) at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to Prince Augustus Ferdinand and Princess Elisabeth Louise
Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Margravine Anna Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt was a Prussian princess. She was a daughter of Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt and his wife Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia.-Family:...
of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
; her biological father may actually have been Count Friedrich Wilhelm Carl von Schmettau.
Her birth was a disappointment to her family, as at the time her elder brother Prince Friedrich Heinrich was the only heir to the Hohenzollern throne of her uncle Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. Despite this, her father was devoted to her, lavishing attention, while her mother showed little affection for her. Her family would eventually come to hold seven siblings, two girls and five boys. They lived at the Friedrichsfelde
Friedrichsfelde
Friedrichsfelde is a German locality within the borough of Lichtenberg, Berlin.-History:The locality was first mentioned in a document of 1265 with the name of Rosenfelde. In 1699 it was renamed Friedrichsfelde after the Prince-Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg...
estate in Berlin.
As she became older, she was given a Lutheran governess, Frau von Bielfeld; her daughter Lisette was three years older, and served as a companion to Louise. Lisette got her interested in romantic novels long before many other girls her age. Bielfeld was highly educated, but died after only five years, in October 1782. Despite Frau von Bielfeld's attention to education, Louise's studies were much neglected, and she forgot much of what had been taught her. As a consequence, Bielfeld left shortly before she died, and was replaced with her approval by a new thirty-year-old governess from the countryside, Fraulein von Keller; Louise and Keller soon formed a strong attachment. Previously, Bielfeld had found it easier to complete Louise's schoolwork and show it to her parents, thus ending in little real improvement and understanding on Louise's part. Keller on the other hand was less educated and in need of instruction, consequently imbuing in Louise a taste for study.
Marriage candidates
As a niece of Frederick the Great, there were often talks of possible matches for Louise. One such candidate was Prince Max of Bavaria, the heir-presumptive of Charles Theodore, Elector of BavariaCharles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...
. The Elector sent an ambassador to Friedrichsfelde in 1785, most likely to inspect Louise's general appearance and character. In the end however, Louise was considered too young, as Prince Max had wanted to marry her within the year; her father conversely refused to part from her until she was eighteen. Max soon afterwards married Landgravine Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgravine Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt was the mother of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.Augusta Wilhelmine was born at Darmstadt, the fourth daughter and ninth child of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt and Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg.-Marriage and...
instead.
Another possible candidate was Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
, the second son of George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, who traveled to Berlin in 1786 to attend military maneuvers
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
; nothing came of this however, and it was rumored that he had instead been interested in Louise's cousin Princess Frederika Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange
Wilhelmina of Prussia, born Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina, , was the consort of William V of Orange and also the de facto leader of the dynastic party and contra revolution in the Netherlands...
. By her own admission, Louise remarked of the York affair, "Lacking charm and elegance, awkward from excessive shyness, I was poorly equipped to supplant my cousin. The Duke [was] a very handsome man...". Frederick later married another relative of Louise's, Princess Frederika Charlotte, who was the daughter of her cousin Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
.
Marriage and issue
In April 1795, Prince Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł and his wife traveled to Berlin with their daughter Christina and son Antoni; on 1 May, they were presented at the royal court at Bellevue Palace. The Radziwiłłs were a Polish Catholic family that belonged to the oldest and most renowned of dynasties in Poland, and were also in possession of much wealth. They were great favorites with Louise's parents, and frequently dined at their home. As time went by, Louise and Antoni began to desire to marry. While many of her family members were in favor of such a match, her mother, never close with Louise, disapproved. Her parents eventually gave their full consent on the assurance that she would live near them during her marriage.Her cousin Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
also gave his consent, pleased that the couple planned to settle in Berlin. As arrangements for their betrothal were underway however, Frederick William, having speedily and happily agreed to their marriage, surprisingly delayed his correspondence for several days. When he finally sent a letter, it read that "Prince Anton not being of a sovereign house, he could not sanction a ceremonial betrothal". Louise's parents were bitterly wounded, and blamed one of his advisers for this change of opinion. In a later letter, the king stated his support for the marriage, but had felt himself bound by his ministers' attentions to traditional etiquette and ceremony.
In 1796 Louise was duly happily married to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł. Though his family possessed wealth and rank, the marriage was nonetheless considered unequal to be matched with the House of Hohenzollern.
The Swedish Princess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp described the couple and the contemporary view around the marriage in Berlin at the time of her visit in 1798:
A witty and talented woman, a typical French "grande dame". I found it particularly interesting to make her acquaintance, as our late KingGustav III of SwedenGustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
had been in love with her and she could therefore had been our Queen, if he had became a widower. Her husband was well of but looked like a footman. The match was a misalliance, but as they loved each other, and as he was very wealthy, it was allowed to pass. The King, the Queen and the entire royal family however disliked her because of this marriage which, according to wicked tongues, was necessary to avoid scandal.
The couple had seven children:
| Name | |Death | Eliza Fryderyka Radziwiłł Elisabeth Radziwill Elisa or Elisabeth Radziwill Elisa Friederike Luise Martha was a member of Polish-Lithuanian high nobility of royal ancestry who was the desired bride of the Prince who later became Wilhelm I, German Emperor.-Relationship with Prince Wilhelm of Prussia:Elisa was a daughter of Prince Anton... | 28 October 1803 | 27 August 1834 | Engaged to Prince Frederick of Schwarzenberg, though the betrothal was dissolved. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wanda Augusta Wilhelmina Radziwiłł | 29 January 1813 | 16 September 1845 | married Adam Konstanty Czartoryski | ||
Later life
The growing family took up residence at Radziwill PalaceReich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
in Berlin. Louise was a happy wife, and the couple's soirees and banquets were said to be more entertaining than anything at the Prussian court. Anton, himself an excellent musician, patronized the best artists of the day; Louise warmly shared in all his interests. One visitor commented on their young family in Berlin:
"Thursday evening I went for the first time to Princess Louisa's, who receives every night. She is quite adored here, and is the person who makes society here. She is ugly, but particularly pleasing, and with no sort of form about her. Her husband, Prince Radziwill, is much the most agreeable man I have ever seen here, and they have a great many beautiful children, particularly a little girl of ten years old, who is the most graceful little creature I have ever saw, and who has taken a great fancy to me. The youngest, a baby of nine months old, is beautiful".
Louise, like many other high rank ladies of the day, visited hospitals, treating soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
; sacrifices were also made by Louise and her family, such as the removal of all travel to and from Berlin, as all horses were sent to the Prussian army.
In 1815, Louise's husband was appointed Duke-Governor of the Grand Duchy of Posen, where he moved with his family. Louise partook in various social causes. Antoni's administration was unsuccessful and near powerless at preventing the Germanisation
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
of the region, as he was caught between his Polish subjects and Prussian authorities. Shortly after the outbreak of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
he was deprived of all the powers, the Grand Duchy was abolished and its autonomy was cancelled. It was directly incorporated into Prussia and renamed the Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
. Antoni returned to his palace in Berlin, where he died on April 7, 1833. He was buried in the Poznań Cathedral. His children with Louise were Germanised and never returned to Poznań; however, as owners of the manor Nieborów
Nieborów
Nieborów is a village in Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Nieborów. It lies approximately east of Łowicz and north-east of the regional capital Łódź....
near Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and huge family estates in today's Belarus, they paid frequent visits to other parts of Poland. Louise died three years after her husband, on 7 December 1836.
Relationship of their daughter and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Their sons were raised as Roman Catholics, while their daughters were raised in Louise's CalvinistCalvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
faith. The children were closely brought up alongside their Hohenzollern cousins, as they were similar in age; their eldest son became the playmate of Prince Wilhelm, future Emperor of Germany. Wilhelm lived for sometime in Konigsburg
Königsburg
Königsburg is a ruined medieval castle southeast of Königshütte, a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken, in Harz district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Site :...
and became greatly attached to their daughter Eliza, as she was a comfort to him during the loss of his mother in 1810; as he became older, Wilhelm desired to marry her. To boost her suitableness, there were talks of Eliza being adopted by the childless Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
or by her uncle Prince Augustus of Prussia
Prince Augustus of Prussia
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich August of Prussia , known in English as Prince Augustus, was a Prussian general...
, but both plans failed to win the support of all parties involved. Learned men of the Prussian court also attempted to trace her ancestry in the hopes of discovering her relation to Polish kings; this failed when others denied the claims of royal Polish ancestry. Their wish for marriage was thus denied by King Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
, as she was considered of insufficient rank despite her mother's birth. Adoption to them would have been unsuitable as it would not change "the blood" of Eliza. Another factor was the influence of the Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
relations of the deceased Queen Louise
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was Queen consort of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III...
in the German and Russian courts, who were not fond of Elisa's father and against the possible marriage. Furthermore, Elisa was considered not sufficiently royal because her father was not a reigning prince.
Thus, in June 1826, Wilhelm's father felt forced to demand the renunciation of a potential marriage to Elisa. Wilhelm spent the next few months looking for a more suitable bride, but did not relinquish his emotional ties to Elisa. He was sent off to the Weimar court to look for a suitable wife, where he wed Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, fourteen years his junior on 11 June 1829. This marriage would prove to be unhappy. Wilhelm saw his cousin, Elisabeth, for the last time in 1829. She died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
five years later, unmarried.
Ancestry
External links
- Princess Louise on Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie