Category Archives: Former Monarchies

Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2021

Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

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Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont was born on September 20, 1789, in Weil am Rhein, Margraviate of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He was the second but the eldest surviving of the eight sons and the third of the thirteen children of Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Georg had twelve siblings but seven of them died either in childhood or in their early twenties:

  • Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1787 – 1806), Abbess of Schaaken, died at age 19
  • Karl of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1788 – 1795), died in childhood
  • Friedrich of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1790 – 1828), morganatically married Ursula Polle who was created Countess of Waldeck, had four children
  • Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1792 – 1795), died in early childhood
  • Augusta of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1793 – 1794), died in infancy
  • Johann of Waldeck- Pyrmont (1794 – 1814), died at age 20
  • Ida of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1796 – 1869), married Georg Wilhelm Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, had nine children
  • Wolrad of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1798 – 1821), died at age 23
  • Mathilde of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1801 – 1825), married Eugen of Württemberg, had three children, died during her fourth pregnancy
  • Karl Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1803 – 1846), married Amalie of Lippe-Biesterfeld, had one child
  • Karoline Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1804 – 1806), died in early childhood
  • Hermann of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1809 – 1876), married Agnes Teleki de Szék, had no children

In 1807, Georg’s father joined the Confederation of the Rhine, a group of German client states of Napoleon’s First French Empire. Because of Waldeck-Pyrmont’s close relationship with the First French Empire, Georg spent two years in training at Napoleon’s court in Paris and Versailles. He then studied law at the University of Leipzig.

On September 24, 1812, after the death of his unmarried and childless elder brother Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Georg’s father succeeded him as Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. However, Georg I’s reign lasted a little less than one year, and upon his death on September 9, 1813, his twenty-three-year-old son succeeded as Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 26, 1823, at Schaumburg Castle in Schaumburg, Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, Georg married Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, daughter of Viktor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym and Amalie of Nassau-Weilburg.

Georg and Emma had five children. Through their son Georg Viktor, they are ancestors of the Dutch royal family.

Since 1645, Waldeck and Pyrmont had been ruled jointly in a personal union. Georg attempted to unite Waldeck and Pyrmont under constitutional law. However, there was much political resistance, and this was not accomplished until 1849, four years after Georg’s death. In 1815, after the fall of Napoleon, Waldeck-Pyrmont joined the German Confederation, an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states created by the Congress of Vienna as a replacement for the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved in 1806.

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

On May 15, 1845, Georg II died at the age of 55, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was buried in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. His wife Emma, served as Regent for their fourteen-year-old son Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont until 1852. She survived her husband by thirteen years, dying on August 1, 1858, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, aged 56, and was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Georg II. (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_II._(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 3 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George II, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_II,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 3 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christiane-henriette-of-zweibrucken-birkenfeld-princess-of-waldeck-pyrmont-regent-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 1 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-i-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Lagis-hessen.de. 2020. Waldeck And Pyrmont, Georg Friedrich Heinrich Fürst Von – Biografie : Erweiterte Suche : LAGIS Hessen. [online] Available at: <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/pnd/104311886> [Accessed 3 December 2020].
  • Waldecker-muenzen.de. 2020. Georg II, Fürst Von Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <http://www.waldecker-muenzen.de/regent_detail.php?rnr=32&menu=1.2> [Accessed 3 December 2020].

Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2021

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont had a short reign, from September 24, 1812  to September 9, 1813. Born on May 6, 1747, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, he was the fourth of the five sons and the fourth of the seven children of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, daughter of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

Georg’s parents and siblings in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

Through their mother, Georg and his six siblings were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Georg’s wife Auguste of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 12, 1784, at Otterwisch Castle in Otterwisch, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Georg married Princess Auguste of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, daughter of Prince August of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the grandson of Christian Wilhelm I, a reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Princess Christine of Anhalt-Bernburg.

Georg and Auguste had thirteen children. Seven of their children died either in childhood or in their early twenties:

  • Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1787 – 1806), Abbess of Schaaken, died at age 19
  • Karl of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1788 – 1795), died in childhood
  • Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1789 – 1845), married Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had five children
  • Friedrich of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1790 – 1828), morganatically married Ursula Polle who was created Countess of Waldeck, had four children
  • Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1792 – 1795), died in early childhood
  • Augusta of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1793 – 1794), died in infancy
  • Johann of Waldeck- Pyrmont (1794 – 1814), died at age 20
  • Ida of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1796 – 1869), married Georg Wilhelm Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, had nine children
  • Wolrad of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1798 – 1821), died at age 23
  • Mathilde of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1801 – 1825), married Eugen of Württemberg, had three children, died during her fourth pregnancy
  • Karl Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1803 – 1846), married Amalie of Lippe-Biesterfeld, had one child
  • Karoline Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1804 – 1806), died in early childhood
  • Hermann of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1809 – 1876), married Agnes Teleki de Szék, had no children

The Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont was heavily in debt during the reign of Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Georg’s unmarried elder brother. In 1805, Friedrich Karl August unsuccessfully attempted to sell the Pyrmont as a cost-cutting measure. Instead, he decided to divide the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, giving his brother Georg Pyrmont, while he kept Waldeck.

Princely Mausoleum (on the right) and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

On September 24, 1812, after the death of his childless elder brother, 65-year-old Georg succeeded him, and Waldeck and Pyrmont were reunited. Because of his age and perhaps illness, Georg knew he would not be able to reign for long and he decided to stay in Pyrmont where he died on September 9, 1813. He was buried in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Georg’s wife Auguste survived him by thirty-six years, dying on December 26, 1849, aged 81, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Georg I. (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_I._(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George I, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christiane-henriette-of-zweibrucken-birkenfeld-princess-of-waldeck-pyrmont-regent-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 1 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Karl August, Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-august-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/> [Accessed 1 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].

Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2021

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont was born on October 25, 1743, in Zweibrücken, Palatinate of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, his mother’s homeland, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. He was the second but the eldest surviving of the five sons and the second of the seven children of Karl August, the reigning Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont and Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, daughter of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

Through their mother, Friedrich Karl August and his six siblings were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Friedrich Karl August’s family in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

In his teens, Friedrich Karl August studied in Lausanne, Switzerland for a year, and then embarked on a grand tour of Italy and France. On August 29, 1763, his father died and Friedrich Karl August succeeded him as reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. However, his mother Christiane Henriette served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until 1766.

Friedrich Karl August had an affair with Charlotte Hermann, the daughter of one of the Waldeck-Pyrmont government councilors, and he wanted to marry her. Charlotte was neither royal nor noble and so Friedrich Karl August’s mother unsuccessfully attempted to have the Holy Roman Emperor ennoble her. The resistance of both Friedrich Karl August’s relatives and Charlotte Hermann’s father prevented even a morganatic marriage and Friedrich Karl August never married.

Like his father and two of his brothers, Friedrich Karl August had a military career. Beginning in 1757, when he was fourteen years old, Friedrich Karl August served in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire with the rank of Imperial Lieutenant Colonel. He was promoted to Imperial Lieutenant General in 1766. In 1772, Friedrich Karl August moved to the Dutch Army, where he was awarded the rank of Major General. His father had agreed for three Waldeck-Pyrmont battalions to serve with the Dutch Army so Friedrich Karl August’s switch was unsurprising. In 1767, he ordered a fourth Waldeck-Pyrmont battalion to serve with the Dutch Army. After serving in 1793 – 1794 in the Dutch Army with a fifth Waldeck-Pyrmont battalion in support of the Dutch over French revolutionaries, Friedrich Karl August retired from active military service.

After a visit to England in 1775 to learn how to modernize Waldeck-Pyrmont, Friedrich Karl August instituted plans for road construction, agriculture improvements, wool and linen production, and iron mining. The education system was improved and a gymnasium, the term for a German secondary school was constructed in Korbach.

These investments led to an increase in the principality’s debt. In an attempt to increase funds, Friedrich Karl August sent Waldeck-Pyrmont troops as mercenaries to support the British in the American War of Independence. However, the debt continued to increase which necessitated Friedrich Karl August going to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna to declare bankruptcy. In 1805, Friedrich Karl August unsuccessfully attempted to sell the Pyrmont as a cost-cutting measure. Instead, he decided to divide the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, giving his brother Georg Pyrmont, while he kept Waldeck. In 1807, at the suggestion of his brother Georg, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine and was given a seat in the College of Princes of the Federal Assembly.

Church of St. Mary; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Karl August died at age 68 on September 24, 1812, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was first buried at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen (link in German) in Bad Wildungen now in the German state of Hesse. In 1962, his remains were transferred to the Princely Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas at the Church of St. Mary (link in German) in Netze, a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse. Because Friedrich Karl August was unmarried, his brother Georg succeeded him and Waldeck and Pyrmont were reunited.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Karl August (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Karl_August_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Karl August, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Karl_August,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christiane-henriette-of-zweibrucken-birkenfeld-princess-of-waldeck-pyrmont-regent-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 1 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Karl August, Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-august-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/> [Accessed 1 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • GbR, S., 2020. Friedrich Karl August, Fürst Von Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Waldecker-muenzen.de. Available at: <http://www.waldecker-muenzen.de/Regent_Beschreibung_Friedrich%2BKarl%2BAugust%2Bals%2Bselbst%E4ndiger%2BRegent_29_1.2.html> [Accessed 2 December 2020].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2020. Federico Carlo Augusto Di Waldeck E Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Carlo_Augusto_di_Waldeck_e_Pyrmont> [Accessed 2 December 2020].

Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

by Susan Flantzer

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess and Regnet of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was born on November 16, 1725, in Ribeauvillé in the Alsace region of France which was heavily contested over the centuries between France and various German states. At the time of Christiane Henriette’s birth, Ribeauvillé was in the hands of the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. Christiane Henriette was the younger of the two daughters and the youngest of the four children of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

Christiane Henriette had three elder siblings:

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 19, 1741, in Zweibrücken, Palatinate of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Christiane Henriette married her first cousin, Karl August, the reigning Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont, son of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Christiane Henriette and her family in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Through Christiane Henriette, her children were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Christiane Henriette was well-educated and was greatly interested in the arts and sciences. She was a close friend of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. When Karl August died on August 29, 1763, he was succeeded by his son Friedrich Karl August. Christiane Henriette served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until Friedrich Karl August reached his majority.

Neues Schloss; Credit – Von GLSystem – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11973441

Between 1763 – 1778, the Neues Schloss (New Castle – link in German), was built for Christiane Henriette as her widow’s seat, near the Residenzschloss Arolsen in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Her art and natural history collections and her 6,000-book library found places at the Neues Schloss. A large English-style palace park was created. Exotic conifers from Christiane Henriette’s natural history collection and a large, terraced fruit and vegetable garden were planted. A travel guide from 1785 described the “Princess Garden” as a special beauty. Christiane Henriette survived her husband by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90, at her home, the Neues Schloss. She was buried in the park of Neues Schloss which she dearly loved. Christiane Henriette left a considerable debt, requiring parts of her library and art collection to be auctioned in 1820.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christiane Henriette Von Pfalz-Zweibrücken. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_Henriette_von_Pfalz-Zweibr%C3%BCcken> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August Friedrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August_Friedrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Neues Schloss (Bad Arolsen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neues_Schloss_(Bad_Arolsen)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette Of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Palatine_Christiane_Henriette_of_Zweibr%C3%BCcken-Birkenfeld> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-august-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2021

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, circa 1740; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont was born on September 24, 1704, in Hanau, County of Hanau, now in the German state of Hesse. He was the second but the eldest surviving of the five sons and the fourth of the eleven children of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Karl August had ten siblings:

  • Christian Philipp (1701 – 1728), unmarried
  • Friederike Magdalene (1702 – 1713), died in childhood
  • Henriette (1703 – 1785), Abbess at Schaaken Abbey
  • Ernestine Luise (1705 – 1782), married Friedrich Bernhard, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen, had two daughters
  • Ludwig Franz Anton (1707 – 1739), unmarried
  • Johann Wilhelm (1708 – 1713), died in childhood
  • Sofie Wilhelmine Elisabeth (1711 – 1775), unmarried
  • Franziska Christiane Ernestine (1712 – 1782), unmarried
  • Luise Albertine Friederike (1714 – 1794), Abbess of Schaaken Abbey
  • Josef (1715 – 1719), died in childhood

As the second son, Karl August was destined for a military career. He served briefly in a French regiment and then entered the Prussian military in 1725. In 1728, Karl August temporarily left military service to travel through Italy. The Waldeck-Pyrmont family was very interested in the ancient world and collected old art treasures. Upon his father’s death on January 1, 1728, his elder brother Christian Philipp briefly was Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont until his death on May 17, 1728. Karl August then became the reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 19, 1741, in Zweibrücken, County of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Karl August married his first cousin Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, daughter of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont:

Karl August and his family in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite being the reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Karl August continued his military career. In the War of the Polish Succession (1733 – 1735), he served as Imperial Sergeant General in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and was wounded twice in battle. During the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748), Karl August served for a period as Commander of the Dutch Army. In 1746 he was appointed Imperial General Field Marshal in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. During the minority of Johann Ludwig, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (link in German), Karl August served as Regent of the County of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.

Karl August, 1748; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl August had been left a great deal of debt due to his father’s ambitious building projects and he tried to limit the debt burden in his small country. However, he and his wife had the Residenzschloss Arolsen redesigned and expanded in the Rococo style. Karl August issued letters of protection to Jewish families provided they could prove that they had assets of at least 1,000 thalers, thereby allowing the immigration of Jewish residents into the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Tomb of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Von Friedhelm Dröge – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73542168

Karl August died on August 29, 1763, aged 58, at the Residenzschloss Arolsen in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was buried in a Baroque-style tomb at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen (link in German) in Bad Wildungen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Karl August’s wife Christiane Henriette survived him by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90, at Neues Schloss (New Castle – link in German), built for Christiane Henriette as her widow’s seat, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, and was buried in the park of Neues Schloss.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christiane Henriette Von Pfalz-Zweibrücken. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_Henriette_von_Pfalz-Zweibr%C3%BCcken> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Anton Ulrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Anton_Ulrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August Friedrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August_Friedrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette Of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Palatine_Christiane_Henriette_of_Zweibr%C3%BCcken-Birkenfeld> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-anton-ulrich-prince-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].

Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Anton Ulrich was the Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont from 1706 – 1712 and then the first Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont from 1712 – 1728. Born on November 27, 1676, in Landau, County of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now part of Arolsen in the German state of Hesse, he was fourteenth of the fifteen children and the youngest of the seven sons of Christian Ludwig, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1635 – 1706) and his first wife Anna Elisabeth of Rappoltstein (1644 – 1676).

One of Friedrich Anton Ulrich’s sisters, three of his half-sisters, and two of his daughters were Abbesses at Schaaken Monastery (link German), originally a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery. After the Reformation, it was a Protestant women’s monastery for members of the nobility with daughters and sisters of the Counts and Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont serving as the Abbesses.

Friedrich Anton Ulrich had fourteen siblings:

  • Charlotte Elisabeth (1659 – 1660), died in infancy
  • Dorothea Elisabeth (1661 – 1702), married Rudolf of Lippe-Brake, had two sons
  • Georg Friedrich (1663 – 1686), unmarried
  • Heinrich Wolrad (1665 – 1688), unmarried, killed in action at the Siege of Negroponte
  • Charlotte Sofie (1667 – 1723), married Johann Junker, had one daughter
  • Alexandrine Henriette (born and died 1668)
  • Christiane Magdalene (1669 – 1699), Abbess at Schaaken Monastery
  • Elenore Katharine (1670 – 1717), unmarried
  • Eberhardine Luise (1671 – 1725), unmarried
  • Friedrich Ludwig Karl (1672 – 1694), unmarried
  • Philipp Ernst (1673 – 1695), unmarried
  • Karl (born and died 1674), died in infancy
  • Wilhelm August (1675 – 1676), died in infancy
  • Marie Henriette (1676 – 1678), died in early childhood

On December 6, 1676, Friedrich Anton Ulrich’s mother Anna Elisabeth died due to childbirth complications after giving birth to her fifteenth child. His father Christian Ludwig married for a second time to Johannette von Nassau-Idstein (1657 – 1733) on June 6, 1680.

From his father’s second marriage, Friedrich Anton Ulrich had eleven half-siblings:

  • Ernst August (1681 – 1703), unmarried, killed at the Battle of Speyerbach
  • Heinrich Georg (1683 – 1736), married Ulrike Eleonore of Dohna-Carimmern
  • Christine Eleonore Luise (1685 – 1737), Abbess at Schaaken Monastery
  • Sofie Wilhelmine (1686 – 1749), Abbess at Schaaken Monastery
  • Karl Christian Ludwig (1687 – 1734), unmarried, killed in action at the Battle of Guastalla
  • Josias (1689 – 1693), died in childhood
  • Johann Wolrad (born and died in 1691), died in infancy
  • Henriette Albertine (1695 – 1699), died in childhood
  • Josias (1696 – 1763), married Dorothea Sophie of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim, had one son
  • Charlotte Florentine (1697 – 1777), Abbess at Schaaken Monastery
  • Friedrich Wilhelm (1699 – 1718), unmarried

Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 22, 1700, in Hanau, County of Hanau, now in the German state of Hesse, Friedrich Anton Ulrich married Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1678 – 1753), daughter of Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Catharine Agathe of Rappoltstein.

Friedrich Anton Ulrich and Luise had eleven children:

On December 12, 1706, Christian Ludwig, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont died and Friedrich Anton Ulrich succeeded his father as Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont. On January 6, 1712, the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont was raised to the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Friedrich Anton Ulrich became Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Residenzschloss Arolsen; Credit – Von Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands – Bad Arolsen (Germany)Uploaded by Magnus Manske, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16245312

Friedrich Anton Ulrich’s most notable accomplishment was his building program which resulted in considerable indebtedness for the small principality. He built the Friedrichsthal Hunting Lodge in Selbach (1701 – link in German), Schloss Pyrmont (1706), Schloss Friedrichstein in Wildungen (1707 – 1714, link in German), and the Residenzschloss Arolsen (1713 – 1729). With the building of the Residenzschloss Arolsen, the town of Arolsen became the main town of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Church of St. Mary; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Anton Ulrich died on January 1, 1728, aged 51, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was first buried at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen (link in German) in Bad Wildungen now in the German state of Hesse. In 1962, his remains were transferred to the Princely Burial Chapel at the Church of St. Mary (link in German) in Netze, a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse. Friedrich Anton Ulrich’s wife Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont survived her husband by twenty-five years, dying on May 3, 1753, at the of 74. She was buried with her husband at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen and then reburied at the Princely Burial Chapel at the Church of St. Mary with her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian Ludwig (Waldeck). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Ludwig_(Waldeck)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Anton Ulrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Anton_Ulrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Anton_Ulrich,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].

Magda Lupescu, third wife of King Carol II of Romania

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Magda Lupescu was the mistress, and then third wife of King Carol II of Romania. The couple was married several years after Carol abdicated the Romanian throne.

King Carol II of Romania and Magda Lupescu; Credit – Wikipedia

Elena “Magda” Lupescu was born in Iaşi, Romania on September 15, 1899, to Nicolae Lupsecu and Elise Falk. Her father was born Jewish but he converted to Orthodoxy and changed his surname to Lupescu. Her mother was also born Jewish but converted to Roman Catholicism before her marriage. Magda had one younger brother Constantin. Raised Catholic, Magda attended a Catholic boarding school in Bucharest.

On February 17, 1919, Magda married Ion Tâmpeanu, an officer in the Romanian Royal Army. They had no children and were divorced by 1923. Sometime in 1923, Magda met Crown Prince Carol, and by early 1925 a relationship had developed. By this time, Carol had already been married twice, first to Zizi Lambrino, a marriage that had been annulled, and was currently married to Princes Helen of Greece with whom he had one son, the future King Mihai of Romania. Once again, his romantic involvement caused a great scandal in Romania. Unhappy in his marriage to Helen, Carol wanted to divorce her and marry Magda. However, the Romanian constitution forbade him from marrying a Romanian citizen. Unable to overcome that restriction, Carol formally renounced his rights to the Romanian throne in December 1925, and was removed from the Royal House by his father King Ferdinand. Carol and Magda were forced to leave Romania, settling in Paris, France.

In June 1930, Carol returned to Romania. Following a coup, his previous renunciation to succession rights was invalidated and he was proclaimed King of Romania on June 8, 1930. Soon after, Magda also returned, taking up residence in a villa, Aleea Vulpache in Bucharest, where she hosted the highest of Romanian society. Despite the public acknowledgment of their relationship, Magda had no official titles or styles, nor did she accompany King Carol at official functions.

After ten years on the throne, Carol was forced to abdicate in September 1940, with his young son Mihai returning to the throne. Once again forced to leave the country, Carol and Magda traveled to Spain and Portugal before settling in Mexico for several years.

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1944, Magda and Carol were finally married in a Brazilian hotel room during the summer of 1947. Magda became known as Princess Elena of Romania, however, this was simply by courtesy, as there was never a formal grant of such a title or style.

Magda” Lupescu source: The Times

Magda and Carol soon moved again, settling in Estoril, Portugal, where they would live the rest of their lives. The former King Carol died suddenly of a heart attack in 1953, and his coffin was placed in the Pantheon of the House of Brangza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal.

Magda survived her husband by 24 years, dying in Estoril, Portugal on June 29, 1977. Her coffin was placed beside her husband’s. In 2003, the coffins of both Magda and Carol were returned to Romania and interred at the Curtea de Argeş Monastery, the traditional burial site of the Romanian royal family in Curtea de Argeș, Romania. While Carol’s coffin was placed in the Royal Chapel, Magda’s was interred in the surrounding cemetery.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

by Susan Flantzer

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The new counties remained in the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. In 1697, the County of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1710.

The death of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen without an heir in 1909 caused the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to be united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union. Following his succession in Sondershausen, Prince Günther Victor dropped the name Rudolstadt from his title and assumed the title Prince of Schwarzburg.

At the end of World War I, Prince Günther Victor was the last German prince to renounce his throne, abdicating on November 22, 1918. He made an agreement with the government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. The territory that encompassed the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is now located in the German state of Thuringia.

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Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg was born on June 28, 1845, at her father’s palace on Karlsstrasse in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the only daughter and the younger of the two children of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his second wife Princess Luise Karoline Reuss of Greiz. Her paternal grandparents were Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (formerly Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen) and Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Marie Gasparine’s maternal grandparents were Heinrich XIX, 3rd Prince of Reuss-Greiz and Princess Gasparine of Rohan-Rochefort. Her father’s sister, born Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, was the wife of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, which is why Bavaria focused so much in her family’s life.

Marie Gasparine had one older sibling:

Marie Gasparine had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who died in 1841 due to childbirth complications:

Marie Gasparine spent the early years of her life in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria where her father, Lieutenant General and Commander of the Cavalry Division of the 1st Army Corps in Munich, was stationed near his favorite sister Queen Therese of Bavaria. In 1852, Marie Gasparine’s father died when she was just seven-years-old. After her father’s death Marie Gasparine, her mother, her brother, and her two surviving half-siblings were moved to Nymphenburg Palace in Munich.

In 1854, Luise Karoline Reuss of Greiz, Marie Gasparine’s mother, married for a second time to Prince Heinrich IV Reuss of Köstritz, a nobleman from the Princely House of Reuss. Marie Gasparine’s family moved to the Paragiat, a settlement for younger sons of ruling or noble houses and their families, in the Principality of Reuss-Köstritz.

Marie Gasparine had four half-siblings from her mother’s second marriage:

Marie Gasparine in her teenage years; Credit – Wikipedia

After her confirmation in April 1860, fifteen-year-old Marie Gasparine was sent to the court of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, her older first cousin, in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. During her nine-year stay, Fraulein von Liederskron, her lady-in-waiting, was responsible for her upbringing and education.

Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, circa 1870; Credit – Wikipedia

In March 1868 at the royal court in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, Marie Gasparine met her future husband, then Hereditary Prince Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and soon they became engaged. The wedding, scheduled for August 1868, had to be postponed because Marie Gasparine was seriously ill with diphtheria.

On June 12, 1869, at Altenburg Castle in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, Maria Gasparine and Karl Günther were finally married. Their impressive guest list included the Crown Prince of Prussia (the future German Emperor Friedrich III), Heinrich XXII, the reigning Prince of Reuss-Greiz, Marie Gasparine’s first cousin Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (born Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg and the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia), Hereditary Prince Friedrich and Hereditary Princess Antoinette of Anhalt, (the future Duke and Duchess of Anhalt, Antoinette was Marie Gasparine’s sister) and Karl Günther’s brothers Prince Leopold and Prince Hugo of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Marie Gasparine as Hereditary Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen; Credit – Wikipedia

During the 1870 – 1871 Franco-Prussian War, Hereditary Princess Marie Gasparine showed great commitment to the wounded and the soldiers’ families. She founded an organization that collected funds for soldiers’ wives and children and mobilized women who produced bandages and who obtained other necessary items. However, the marriage of Marie Gasparine and Karl Günther remained childless and this would cause a succession crisis.

On July 17, 1880, 79-year-old Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen abdicated in favor of his son Karl Günther due to old age and illness. He survived nine more years, dying on September 15, 1889.

In addition to her duties as Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Marie Gasparine was interested in culture and history. She was particularly interested in Mon plaisir, the miniature doll town of Auguste Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1666–1751), wife of Anton Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Mon plaisir is a replica of a baroque town in miniature format, with 400 dolls, 2,670 individual items, in 82 miniature scenes. The scenes give an impression of everyday life in the 18th century. The doll collection had long been forgotten. Marie Gasparine restored the collection and made it important once again. The doll collection is still on display at the Schloss Museum in Arnstadt.

Karl Günther in 1898; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1906, Karl Günther suffered a debilitating hunting accident, never recovered, and spent the rest of his life bedridden. He died on March 28, 1909, aged 78, in a sanatorium in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, and was buried in the princely burial chapel at Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church – link in German) in Sondershausen, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia. Because Karl Günther was childless and his unmarried brothers had died, the two Schwarzburg principalities were united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union and he was then styled Prince of Schwarzburg.

Marie Gasparine in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of her husband, a separate court was established for Marie Gasparine as Dowager Princess. She lived mostly at Schloss Sondershausen (link in German) and Schloss Gehren (link in German). After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, the November Revolution of 1918 led to the end of all the German monarchies. On November 23, 1918, Günther Victor abdicated the throne of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and on November 25, 1918, he abdicated in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Günther Victor made an agreement with the new government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. At the same time, Marie Gasparine received the right to live in a wing of Schloss Sondershausen which she shared with the abdicated Günther Victor and his wife Anna Luise.

Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church) with the princely burial chapel on the right; Credit – Von ErwinMeier – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53603995

Marie Gasparine survived her husband by 21 years. She died on July 5, 1930, aged 85, at Schloss Sondershausen, in Sondershausen, Thuringia, Germany, and was buried with her husband in the princely burial chapel at Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church) in Sondershausen.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl Günther (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_G%C3%BCnther_(Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Marie Von Sachsen-Altenburg (1845–1930). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_von_Sachsen-Altenburg_(1845%E2%80%931930)> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles Gonthier, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gonthier,_Prince_of_Schwarzburg-Sondershausen> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Princess Marie Gasparine Of Saxe-Altenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_Gasparine_of_Saxe-Altenburg> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-schwarzburg-sondershausen/> [Accessed 13 November 2020].

Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The new counties remained in the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. In 1697, the County of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1710.

The death of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen without an heir in 1909 caused the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to be united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union. Following his succession in Sondershausen, Prince Günther Victor dropped the name Rudolstadt from his title and assumed the title Prince of Schwarzburg.

At the end of World War I, Prince Günther Victor was the last German prince to renounce his throne, abdicating on November 22, 1918. He made an agreement with the government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. The territory that encompassed the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is now located in the German state of Thuringia.

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Credit – Wikipedia

Born in Arnstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia, on August 7, 1830, Karl Günther, was the last Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen from the House of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. After his death, the final Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen would come from the House of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Karl Günther was the second but the eldest surviving of the three sons and the third of the four children of Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg–Sondershausen and his first wife Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1809 – 1833), daughter of Prince Carl of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Luise Ulrike of Hesse-Homburg, and the granddaughter of Friedrich Karl, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Karl Günther had three siblings:

  • Günther Friedrich Carl Alexander (1828 – 1833), died in childhood
  • Elisabeth Caroline Luise (1829 – 1893), unmarried
  • Leopold (1832 – 1906), unmarried, served in the Prussian Army

Karl Günther’s mother died when he was three-years-old. His father married for a second time on May 29, 1835, to Mathilde of Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1814 – 1888), daughter of Prince August of Hohenlohe-Öhringen and Luise of Württemberg. Karl had two half-siblings from this marriage which ended in divorce in 1852:

  • Marie (1837 – 1921), unmarried
  • Hugo (1839 – 1871), unmarried

Karl Günther, circa 1870; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl Günther studied law and literature at the University of Bonn. After his studies, he joined the Prussian Army as an Oberleutnant (Senior Lieutenant) and served in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. He progressed through the ranks of the Prussian Army, ultimately achieving the rank of General of the Infantry in 1886.

Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 12, 1869, in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, Karl Günther married Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg, daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his second wife Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz. The marriage was childless and this would cause a succession crisis.

On July 17, 1880, 79-year-old Günther Friedrich Karl II abdicated in favor of his son Karl Günther due to old age and illness. He survived nine more years, dying on September 15, 1889. Karl Günther was more interested in hunting than in government affairs and he mostly left those matters to his ministers. However, Karl Günther oversaw advancements to the education system of the principality by opening a state school and a teacher-training facility.

Because Karl Günther was childless, his heir presumptive was his unmarried younger brother Prince Leopold. In 1890, the two brothers caused a scandal, published in newspapers worldwide, when they had a fistfight after 58-year-old Leopold was offended when 60-year-old Karl Günther suggested that he marry a commoner if no royal woman would agree to marry him.

The princely house of Schwarzburg consisted of two branches: Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was the senior line and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was the junior line. According to a 1713 family pact, upon the extinction of one of the lines, the principality would pass to the surviving line. However, because the Rudolstadt line was also threatened with extinction, an agreement was made in 1896 between the three remaining Schwarzburg dynasts, Karl Günther and his brother Leopold, and their childless cousin Günther Victor, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

To ensure the continued existence of the House of Schwarzburg, Prince Sizzo of Leutenberg was recognized as a member of the House of Schwarzburg with full succession rights. Prince Sizzo was the only son of Friedrich Günther, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from a morganatic marriage. Sizzo and his twin sister were created Prince and Princess of Leutenberg shortly after their birth but Sizzo did not have succession rights due to his parents’ morganatic marriage. When Prince Leopold of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen died in 1906, Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, became heir presumptive to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church) with the princely burial chapel on the right; Credit – Von ErwinMeier – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53603995

In 1906, Karl Günther suffered a debilitating hunting accident, never recovered, and spent the rest of his life bedridden. He died on March 28, 1909, aged 78, in a sanatorium in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, and was buried in the princely burial chapel at Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church – link in German) in Sondershausen, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia. The two Schwarzburg principalities were united under Günther Victor of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union and he was then styled Prince of Schwarzburg.

Marie Gasparine survived her husband by 21 years. She died on July 5, 1930, aged 85, in Sondershausen, Thuringia, Germany, and was buried with her husband in the princely burial chapel at Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church) in Sondershausen.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Günther Friedrich Carl II. (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Friedrich_Carl_II._(Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl Günther (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_G%C3%BCnther_(Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Marie Von Sachsen-Altenburg (1845–1930). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_von_Sachsen-Altenburg_(1845%E2%80%931930)> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles Gonthier, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gonthier,_Prince_of_Schwarzburg-Sondershausen> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/gunther-victor-prince-of-schwarzburg/> [Accessed 13 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-schwarzburg-sondershausen/> [Accessed 13 November 2020].

Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

by Susan Flantzer

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The new counties remained in the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. In 1697, the County of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1710.

The death of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen without an heir in 1909 caused the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to be united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union. Following his succession in Sondershausen, Prince Günther Victor dropped the name Rudolstadt from his title and assumed the title Prince of Schwarzburg.

At the end of World War I, Prince Günther Victor was the last German prince to renounce his throne, abdicating on November 22, 1918. He made an agreement with the government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. The territory that encompassed the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is now located in the German state of Thuringia.

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Credit – geni.com

Born September 24, 1801, in Sondershausen, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia, Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg–Sondershausen was the only son and the eldest of the two children of Günther Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the daughter of Friedrich Karl, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. His mother was an influential figure in his upbringing. She took him on several trips throughout Europe and raised him to be enlightened and progressive.

Günther Friedrich Karl II had one sibling:

Günther Friedrich Karl II married twice. On March 12, 1827, he married his first cousin Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1809 – 1833), daughter of Prince Carl of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, son of Friedrich Karl, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and Luise Ulrike of Hesse-Homburg.

Günther Friedrich Karl II and Marie had four children:

Günther Friedrich Karl’s first wife Marie died March 29, 1833, aged 23. She was buried with her five-year-old son Günther Friedrich Carl Alexander, who also died in 1833, at the Fürstengruft auf dem Alten Friedhof (Princely Crypt at the Old Cemetery) in Arnstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia.

Mathilde of Hohenlohe-Öhringen; Credit – Wikipedia

Günther Friedrich Karl II married for a second time on May 29, 1835, to Mathilde of Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1814 – 1888), daughter of Prince August of Hohenlohe-Öhringen and Luise of Württemberg. Günther Friedrich Karl II and Mathilde divorced in 1852. Mathilde, aged 74, died in 1888 at the Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, Austria. Despite the divorce, Mathilde was buried Fürstengruft auf dem Alten Friedhof (Princely Crypt at the Old Cemetery) in Arnstadt.

Günther Friedrich Karl and Mathilde had two children:

  • Marie (1837 – 1921), unmarried
  • Hugo (1839 – 1871), unmarried

Günther Friedrich Karl II’s father, Günther Friedrich Karl I, ruled as an absolute monarch despite his subjects wanting a say in the principality’s government. His refusal to grant any concessions made him very unpopular and he was forced to abdicate on August 19, 1835, by his son Günther Friedrich Karl II in a palace revolt called the Ebeleben Revolution.

Soon after Günther Friedrich Karl II became the reigning prince, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the Zollverein or German Customs Union, a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. On Günther Friedrich Karl II’s 40th birthday, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen received a new constitution instituting the first state parliament. During the Revolutions of 1848, there were uprisings in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ultimately resulting in a new, liberal constitution that curtailed the reigning prince’s rights. However, in 1857, the constitution was reformed conservatively, and the previously curtailed rights of the reigning prince were mostly restored.

In 1867, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the North German Confederation, the German federal state that was controlled and led by the Kingdom of Prussia, the largest and most powerful member. Günther Friedrich Karl II then became a Major General in the Prussian Army and received subsequent promotions until in 1879, he became General of the Infantry. In 1871, when the German Empire was formed, the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen became a constituent member but Günther Friedrich Karl II was not present when Wilhelm I, King of Prussia was declared German Emperor (Kaiser) in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France, on January 18, 1871.

Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church) with the princely burial chapel on the right; Credit – Von ErwinMeier – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53603995

On July 17, 1880, Günther Friedrich Karl abdicated in favor of his son Karl Günther due to old age and illness. Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen died on September 15, 1889, in Sondershausen at the age of 88. His remains were interred in an unknown location until the completion of the princely burial chapel at Trinitatiskirche (Trinity Church – link in German) in Sondershausen, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia. In 1891, the remains of Günther Friedrich Karl II were transferred to the new princely burial chapel.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Günther Friedrich Carl I. (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Friedrich_Carl_I._(Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)> [Accessed 12 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Günther Friedrich Carl II. (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Friedrich_Carl_II._(Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)> [Accessed 12 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-schwarzburg-sondershausen/> [Accessed 9 November 2020].