by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017
Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the first wife of the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg. She was born August Caroline Friederike Luise (known in the family as Zelmira) on December 3, 1764, in Brunswick, Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. Her parents were Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, a sister of King George III. Augusta had six siblings:
- Karl Georg August (1766-1806) – married Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau, no issue
- Caroline Amalie Elisabeth (1768-1821) – married King George IV of the United Kingdom, had issue
- Georg Wilhelm Christian (1769-1811) – unmarried
- August (1770-1822) – unmarried
- Friedrich Wilhelm (1771-1815) – married Princess Marie of Baden, had issue
- Amelie Karoline (1772-1773) – died in infancy
On October 15, 1780, in Brunswick, Augusta married Prince Friedrich of Württemberg (later King Friedrich I). He was the son of Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and Margravine Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Despite an unhappy marriage, Augusta and Friedrich had four children:
- King Wilhelm I of Württemberg (1781-1864) – married (1) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, no issue, marriage dissolved; (2) Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia, had issue; (3) Pauline of Württemberg, had issue
- Princess Catharina of Württemberg (1783-1835) – married Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, had issue
- Duchess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (1783-1784) – died in infancy
- Prince Paul of Württemberg (1785-1852) – married Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen, had issue
The marriage was a disaster from the start, with Augusta wanting to leave her husband as early as her first pregnancy. However, they remained married for several years. In 1782, Friedrich had impressed Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia while visiting Russia, and she made him Governor-General of Eastern Finland. Four years later, while they were visiting the Empress in St. Petersburg, Augusta asked Catherine for protection from her husband. She claimed that Friedrich was abusive to her, and was having affairs with several men. The Empress took Augusta in and told Friedrich to leave the country. Augusta hoped to obtain a divorce, but her father would not permit it. So the Empress provided Augusta with a home at Koluvere Castle in Estonia, along with a custodian, Wilhelm von Pohlmann. Soon, Augusta and von Pohlmann began an affair and she became pregnant.
On September 27, 1788, Augusta went into premature labor. Fearing that their affair would become known, von Pohlmann refused to call for a doctor and Augusta died of blood loss. She was quickly buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby Kullamaa Church. To avoid a scandal, both Empress Catherine II and Augusta’s father were told that she had died suddenly, with a broken blood vessel as the cause of death. The truth did not come out until many years later when her son had her body exhumed and the details of her death investigated.
Württemberg Resources at Unofficial Royalty
- Kingdom of Württemberg Index
- Profiles: Württemberg Rulers and Consorts
- Rulers of Württemberg
- Württemberg Royal Burial Sites
- Württemberg Royal Dates
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