Théodolinde de Beauharnais, Princess of Leuchtenberg, Countess of Wurttemberg (13 April 1814, Mantua

Mantua

Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 – 1 April 1857, Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) was a Franco-German princess.

Biography

Théodolinde was the fifth of the seven children of Eugène de Beauharnais

Eugène de Beauharnais

Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...

 (1781–1824), Duke of Leuchtenberg, and his wife Princess Augusta of Bavaria

Princess Augusta of Bavaria

Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg was the second child and eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt.- Marriage and issue :...

 (1788–1851). She had two brothers and five sisters. Josephine de Beauharnais

Joséphine de Beauharnais

Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...

, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and former Empress of France, was her paternal grandmother. The latter, however, died about six weeks after Théodolinde's birth.

Through her marriage to Wilhelm of Württemberg

Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach

Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach , was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg , younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wife, Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis , who had married in 1800...

, Théodolinde became Countess of Württemberg but she died before her husband received the title of Duke of Urach

Duke of Urach

The title Duke of Urach was created in the Kingdom of Württemberg for Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand, Count of Württemberg on 28 March 1867, with the style of HSH."Urach" is pronounced Oo-raakh -Family:...

. She died on the morning of 1 April 1857 after a short illness, and was buried in the family vault at Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

, with her heart buried at the Hauskapelle of the palace in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

.

She was the subject of a portrait by Friedrich Durck.

Marriage and issue

On 8 February 1841 at the age of 26, she married Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach

Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach

Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach , was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg , younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wife, Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis , who had married in 1800...

 in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. Four daughters were born from this marriage:

• Princess Augusta Eugenie of Urach (1842–1916). Married first Count Rudolf von Enzenberg zum Freyen und Jochelsthurn (1835–1874) and second Count Franz von Thun und Hohenstein (1826–1888). Both of her marriages produced issue.
• Princess Marie Josephine of Urach (1844–1864).
• Princess Eugenia Amalie of Urach (1848–1867).
• Princess Mathilde of Urach (1854–1907). Married Paolo Altieri, Prince of Viano, by whom she had issue.

Styles

• 1814–1841 Théodolinde Louise Eugénie Auguste Napoléone de Beauharnais
• 1814–1814 Princess of Italy
• 1814–1814 Princess of France
• 1817–1841 Princess of Leuchtenberg, with the form of address Your royal Highness
• 1817–1841 Princess of Eichstädt
• 1841–1857 Countess of Württemberg

Ancestry

Sources

• Théodolinde de Beauharnais at thePeerage.com
• Arnold McNaughton: The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy, London (1973)