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Sophie Von Dönhoff
Countess Sophie Friederike Juliane von Dönhoff (17 October 1768 – 28 January 1838) was a German lady-in-waiting and a morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia. Early life She was the daughter of Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Dönhoff and Anna Sophie von Langermann und Erlencamp. Life In 1789, she became the lady-in-waiting of the Prussian queen, Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. Marriage She was described as a talented pianist and singer, admired for her attractive figure and said to be of an imperious disposition; she attracted the king's attention soon after the death of Julie von Voß, and insisted upon the same conditions as her predecessor, that is the consent of the queen to a "left-handed marriage" and a dowry.Atkinson, Emma Willsher: Memoirs of the queens of Prussia', London : W. Kent Sophie married Frederick at Charlottenburg Palace 11 April 1790. In contrast to Julie von Voß, who had behaved with discreet gentleness, So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, or companion to her mistress than a servant. In other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as ''palace woman'', was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practised, a court lady was formally available to the monarch for sexual services, and she could become his wife, consort, courtesan, or concubine. ''Lady-in-waiting'' or ''court lady'' is often a generic term for women whose r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelmine Von Lichtenau
The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm's abdication during the November Revolution. It affected the society, politics, culture, art and architecture of Germany and roughly coincided with the Belle Époque era of Western Europe. Overview The term "Wilhelminism" (''Wilhelminismus'') is not meant as a conception of society associated with the name Wilhelm and traceable to an intellectual initiative of the German Emperor. Rather, it relates to the image presented by Wilhelm II and his demeanour, as manifested by the public presentation of grandiose military parades and self-aggrandisement on his part. The latter tendency had already been noticed by his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I, while the latter's father, later Frederick III, was Crown Prince. Wilhelminism also characterizes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century German People
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 (Roman numerals, MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 (Roman numerals, MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American Revolution, American, French Revolution, French, and Haitian Revolution, Haitian Revolutions. During the century, History of slavery, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, while declining in Russian Empire, Russia, Qing dynasty, China, and Joseon, Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that Proslavery, supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in Society, human society and the Natural environment, environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1838 Deaths
Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph. * January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhamma ... - A 1838 Vrancea earthquake, 7.5 earthquake strikes the Romanian district of Vrancea County, Vrancea causing damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, killing 73 people. * January 21 – The first known report about the Lowest temperature recorded on Earth, lowest temperature on Earth is made, indicating in Yakutsk. * February 6 – Boer explorer Piet Retief and 60 of his men are massacred by King Dingane kaSenzangakhona of the Zulu people, afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1768 Births
Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and sent to the other Thirteen Colonies. Refusal to revoke the letter will result in dissolution of the Massachusetts Assembly, and (from October) incur the institution of martial law to prevent civil unrest. * February 24 – With Russian troops occupying the nation, opposition legislators of the national legislature having been deported, the government of Poland signs a treaty virtually turning the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into a protectorate of the Russian Empire. * February 27 – The first Secretary of State for the Colonies is appointed in Britain, the Earl of Hillsborough. * February 29 – Five days after the signing of the treaty, a group of the szlachta, Polish nobles, establishes the Bar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elisabeth Helene Von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg (4 May 1679 – 27 June 1704), Countess of Antvorskov, was a Danish noble and lady-in-waiting of German origin. She was the royal mistress of King Frederick IV of Denmark and, later, his first morganatic wife by bigamy. Biography She was the daughter of Prussian minister Adam Otto von Vieregg from Mecklenburg, the Prussian ambassador in Copenhagen from 1698 to 1706. Her mother was Anna Helena von Wolfersdorf. Elisabeth Helene was made lady-in-waiting to Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark, and entered into a relationship with Frederick, who became King the same year (1699). The relationship was initially a secret, but was discovered in 1701 after a letter from her father, defending their relationship, was made public. On 6 September 1703 she was secretly married to Frederick IV, who thereby committed bigamy (his queen consort, Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, was still alive), and was given the estate Antvorskov and the title Countess of Antvorskov. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Ferdinand, Duke Of Anhalt-Köthen
Frederick Ferdinand of Anhalt-Köthen (25 June 1769, Pless – 23 August 1830, Köthen) was a German prince, Ascanian ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Pless and, from 1818, of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. He was the second son of Frederick Erdmann, Prince of Anhalt-Pless, and his wife, Countess Louise Ferdinande of Stolberg-Wernigerode, daughter of Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode. Life In 1786 he joined the Prussian Army, where he obtained the rank of ''Major General''. From 1792 to 1794, he fought in military campaigns on the Rhine. After the death of his father and his mentally disabled older brother's renunciation of succession rights (1797), Frederick Ferdinand inherited the non-sovereign Prussian state country of Pless, but in 1803 he returned to the Prussian army. In Lindenau bei Heiligenbeil on 20 August 1803 Frederick Ferdinand married Princess Maria Dorothea Henriette ''Louise'' of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (28 September 1783, Lindenau24 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg
Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Brandenburg (24 January 1792 – 6 November 1850) was a morganatic son of King Frederick William II and politician, who served as Minister President of Prussia from 1848 until his death. Life Born in the Prussian capital Berlin, he was the son of King Frederick William II of Prussia (1744–1797) from his morganatic marriage with Sophie von Dönhoff (1768–1838). He and his younger sister Julie (1793–1848) received the comital title ''von Brandenburg'' in 1794, and were raised with the sons of ''Hofmarschall'' Valentin von Massow. His sister married Duke Frederick Ferdinand of Anhalt-Köthen in 1816. On 18 April 1806, Friedrich Wilhelm joined the Prussian Army by entering the ''Gardes du Corps'' regiment and from the next year participated in the Napoleonic War of the Fourth Coalition. In 1812 he achieved the rank of ''Rittmeister'' in the staff of Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, leading the Prussian auxiliary forces in support of the French invasion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlottenburg Palace
Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace with its gardens is a major tourist attraction. History Palace The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich I, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Named ''Lietzenburg'', the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. It consisted of one wing and was built in storeys with a central cupola. The façade was decorated with Corinthian p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morganatic
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse, or any children born of the marriage. The concept is most prevalent in German-speaking territories and countries most influenced by the customs of the German-speaking realms. Generally, this is a marriage between a man of high birth (such as from a reigning, deposed or mediatised dynasty) and a woman of lesser status (such as a daughter of a low-ranked noble family or a commoner).Webster's Online Dictionary . Retrieved 2008-07-10. Diesbach, Ghislain de. ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Von Voß
Julie Amalie Elisabeth von Voss (24 July 1766, Buch (Berlin) – 25 March 1789) was a German lady-in-waiting and a bigamy, bigamous morganatic spouse of King Frederick William II of Prussia. Life She was the daughter of Friedrich Christian von Voss and Amalia Ottilia von Vieregg. Her uncle was chamberlain to the queen dowager. In 1783, she became lady-in-waiting to the Prussian queen, Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was nicknamed "Miss Bessy" at court as an anglophile, not regarded beautiful or clever, but fascinated the king by refusing his advances.Atkinson, Emma Willsher: Memoirs of the queens of Prussia', London : W. Kent She was persuaded to "sacrifice herself for the country" and accept the king by her relative Count Finckenstein, who wished to replace Wilhelmine von Lichtenau, with the argument that she would be able to save the king from the bad company of his circle. She accepted on condition that the queen's consent should be gained to a left-handed marriage w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederika Louisa Of Hesse-Darmstadt
Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Friederike Luise; 16 October 1751 – 25 February 1805) was Queen of Prussia as the second spouse of King Frederick William II. Life Frederica Louisa was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken. She was born in Prenzlau. She was the sister of Grand Duchess Louise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as well as Grand Duke Louis I of Hesse. Marriage Frederica Louisa was selected to marry Frederick William immediately after his divorce from Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, after Margravine Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt and Sophia Albertina of Sweden had been suggested. Her mother was highly admired by Frederick the Great. The wedding was performed on 14 July 1769 at the Charlottenburg Palace. Frederica Louisa was described as solid and sensible and with an agreeable conversation, though lacking of beauty and any particular intellectual abilities.Atkinson, Emma Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
