by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia
Princess Cecilia of Sweden was the third wife of Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg, and the only one of his three wives to hold the title of Grand Duchess. She was born at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on June 22, 1807, the youngest child of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Princess Friederike of Baden. Cecilia had four siblings:
- Crown Prince Gustav, Prince of Vasa (1799-1877) – married Luise Amelie of Baden, had issue
- Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (1801-1865) – married Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, had issue
- Prince Carl Gustaf (1802-1805) – died in childhood
- Princess Amalia (1805-1853) – unmarried
Cecilia was not yet two years old when her father was deposed as King of Sweden in 1809. The family moved to Baden, and her parents divorced three years later. After that, Cecilia was raised primarily by her maternal grandmother, Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, Hereditary Princess of Baden, at Schloss Bruchsal in Bruchsal, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Grand Duke August of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia
In October 1830, Cecilia met her future husband. Grand Duke August stopped in Bruchsal during his travels, and within just an hour of conversation, he asked for her hand in marriage. Cecilia then moved to Vienna, where her brother was serving in the court of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. There, on May 5, 1831, Cecilia and August were married.
Cecilia and August had three sons:
- Duke Alexander (1834-1835) – died in infancy
- Duke Nikolaus (1836-1837) – died in infancy
- Duke Elimar (1844-1895) – married Baroness Natalie Vogel von Friesenhof, had issue
As Grand Duchess, Cecilia worked to promote the arts in Oldenburg, helping to found the city’s first theater, and writing the melody of a hymn that would later become the unofficial anthem of the Grand Duchy. Despite her efforts, she never found a connection to the people of Oldenburg outside of her court, and those within the artistic communities.
Grand Duchess Cecilia died in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on January 27, 1844, just days after giving birth to her youngest son. She is buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg.
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Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty