Caroline of Baden (german: Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine von Baden; 13 July 1776 – 13 November 1841) was by marriage an
Electress of Bavaria
An Electress (, ) was the consort of a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the Empire's greatest princes.
The Golden Bull of 1356 established by Emperor Charles IV settled the number of Electors at seven. However, three of these wer ...
and later the first
Queen consort of Bavaria by marriage to
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.
Life
Early life
She was the eldest child of
Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden
Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden (14 February 1755 – 16 December 1801) was heir apparent of the Margraviate of Baden.
Early life and family
Born in Karlsruhe, he was the son of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, Margrave Charles F ...
, and his wife
Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 June 1754 – 21 June 1832) was a Hereditary Princess of Baden by marriage to Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden. She was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ludwig IX, Landgrave of ...
. She was born 13 July 1776, twin sister of Katharina Amalie Christiane Luise.
Caroline was considered as a bride for
Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien
Louis Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien (''duc d'Enghien'' pronounced ) (Louis Antoine Henri; 2 August 1772 – 21 March 1804) was a member of the House of Bourbon of France. More famous for his death than for his life, he was executed on charg ...
, but the fear of attracting opposition from France made her family hesitate.
Marriage
On 9 March 1797, in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, she became the second spouse of
Maximilian
Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name.
The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names.
List of people
Monarchs
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 ...
, Duke of
Palatine Zweibrücken, who two years later would inherit the
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria.
The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Ba ...
. As a result of the dissolution of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
in 1806, the rank of Elector became obsolete, and the ruler of Bavaria was promoted to the rank of King. As a result, Caroline became Queen of Bavaria. Caroline had seven children with her husband, including two pairs of twins, an interesting occurrence considering Caroline was also a twin herself.
She was allowed to keep her Protestant religion and had her own Protestant pastor, which was unique for a Bavarian queen. She was described as a very dignified consort and hostess of the Bavarian court and raised her daughters to have a strong sense of duty.
Death and funeral
Caroline of Baden died 13 November 1841, outliving her husband by sixteen years and one month. Due to her Protestant religion, her funeral was conducted with so little royal dignity that there were public protests. By order of the Catholic archbishop of Munich, Lothar Anselm von Gebsattel, all participating Catholic clergy were dressed in ordinary clothes instead of church vestments. The Protestant clergy were halted at the church door and not allowed to proceed inside for the service, so Ludwig Friedrich Schmidt gave the funeral sermon there. Afterward, the funeral procession dissipated, and the coffin was placed in the burial crypt without ceremony. This treatment of his beloved stepmother permanently softened the attitude of Caroline's stepson
Ludwig I of Bavaria
en, Louis Charles Augustus
, image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
, succession=King of Bavaria
, reign =
, coronation ...
, who up until that time had been a strong opponent of Protestantism despite his marriage to the Protestant princess
Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen (8 July 1792 – 26 October 1854) was queen of Bavaria as the wife of King Ludwig I.
Biography
Therese was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of ...
.
Issue
Honours
* / : Sovereign of the
Order of Saint Elizabeth
The Order of Saint Elizabeth was an all-female chivalric and charitable order in the Kingdom of Bavaria. The following excerpt is from ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign'' (1884):
History
The first Consort of the Elector Charles T ...
(feminine order)
* : Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Saint Catherine
The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine (russian: Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины) was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine ...
, ''9 April 1801''
Ancestors
References
*Françoise de Bernardy : "Stéphanie de Beauharnais, fille adoptive de Napoléon et grande-duchesse de Bade " L.A.P. Pais, 1977.
{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2012
Bavarian queens consort
House of Zähringen
House of Wittelsbach
German twins
Electresses of Bavaria
Duchesses of Berg
Electoral Princesses of Bavaria
1776 births
1841 deaths
Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich