Princess Augusta of Bavaria
Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg (German: Auguste Amalie Ludovika Georgia von Bayern) (Strasbourg, 21 June 1788 – Munich, 13 May 1851) was the second child and eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. By marriage, she was a French Princess.
Princess Augusta | |||||
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Duchess of Leuchtenberg | |||||
![]() Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler | |||||
Born | Strasbourg | 21 June 1788||||
Died | 13 May 1851 62) Munich | (aged||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | Joséphine, Queen of Sweden and Norway Eugénie, Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Auguste, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg Amélie, Empress of Brazil Théodoline, Countess Wilhelm of Württemberg Princess Carolina Maximilian, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg | ||||
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House | Wittelsbach | ||||
Father | Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria | ||||
Mother | Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt |
![](../I/m/Blason_d'Augusta_Am%C3%A9lie_de_Bavi%C3%A8re.svg.png)
Early life
![](../I/m/Johann_Joseph_Langenh%C3%B6ffel_-_Auguste_Wilhelmine.jpg)
Augusta-Amelie of Bavaria was the eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. She lost her mother in 1795 from lung problems and her father remarried two years later with the young Caroline of Baden, who imposed on her husband's court a seriousness that some thought was beneficial. At first, Augusta did not like her stepmother like her younger siblings Karl Theodore and Charlotte did, as she was still attached to her late mother, but Caroline and Augusta’s relationship improved over time.
In 1795, at the death of his elder brother, her father Maximilian became reigning duke of Zweibrücken but his States were occupied by the troops of the young First French Republic. In 1799, at the death of his distant cousin Charles Theodore, Maximilian became count-elector Palatine of the Rhine and Duke-Elector of Bavaria under the name of Maximilian III.
Marriage and issue
Although originally promised in marriage to the heir of Baden, Charles, the engagement was broken at the behest of Napoleon I of France. On 14 January 1806 in Munich, Augusta married Eugène de Beauharnais, only son of Josephine de Beauharnais and Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais and stepson of Napoleon[1]. In return, Napoleon raised Bavaria from a state to a Kingdom. Although a diplomatic marriage, this union would turn out to be a happy one. In 1817, Augusta's father created his son-in-law Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstädt, with the style Royal Highness.
Augusta and Eugène had seven children:
- Princess Joséphine Maximiliane Eugénie Napoléonne de Beauharnais (1807–1876); married Oscar I of Sweden, himself the son of Napoleon's old love, Désirée Clary.
- Princess Eugénie Hortense Auguste de Beauharnais (1808–1847); married Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen.
- Prince Auguste Charles Eugène Napoléon de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg (1810–1835); married Maria II of Portugal. There was no issue from this marriage.
- Princess Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais (31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873); married Pedro I of Brazil (father of Maria II of Portugal and Pedro II of Brazil) and became Empress of Brazil.
- Princess Theodelinde Louise Eugénie Auguste Napoléone de Beauharnais (1814–1857); married Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach.
- Princess Carolina Clotilde de Beauharnais (1816)
- Prince Maximilian Josèphe Eugène Auguste Napoléon de Beauharnais (1817–1852); married Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia, eldest daughter of Nicholas I of Russia, and received the title of "Prince Romanovsky" with the style "Imperial Highness", in 1852.
Death
Augusta survived her husband by 20 years before dying in 1851 at the age of 63 in Munich. At that time, France’s president was the nephew of the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the son of Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland, the sister of Prince Eugène.
Gallery
- A young Princess Augusta.
- Augusta’s marriage to Eugène de Beauharnais, by François Guillaume Menageot
- Tomb of Augusta of Bavaria
Honours
Kingdom of Portugal: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Isabel, 1 December 1834[2]
Ancestry
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References
- Abbott, J.S.C. (1856). Confidential Correspondence of The Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Josephine: Including Letters from the Time of their Marriage until the Death of Josephine and also Several Private Letters from the Emperor to his Brother Joseph, and other Important Personages. New York: Mason Brothers. pp. 86–88.
- Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 4. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
External links
Princess Augusta of Bavaria Born: 21 June 1788 Died: 13 May 1851 | ||
German royalty | ||
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Preceded by None |
Duchess of Leuchtenberg 1817–1824 |
Succeeded by Maria Nikolaevna of Russia |