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Margrave Charles Philip of Brandenburg-Schwedt (5 January 1673 in Sparnberg – 23 July 1695 in
Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...
) was a Hohenzollern prince and a titular
Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...
of
Brandenburg-Schwedt Brandenburg-Schwedt was a secundogeniture of the Hohenzollern margraves of Brandenburg, established by Prince Philip William who took his residence at Schwedt Castle in 1689. By appanage, they administered the manors of Schwedt and Vierraden on ...
. Near the end of his life he became Grand Master of the
Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
.


Life

Charles Philip was the third surviving son of the "Great Elector",
Frederick William of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...
(1620–1688) from his second marriage with Sophia Dorothea (1636–1689), the daughter of
Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg (15 March 1584 – 27 September 1663) was the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg after the death of his father in 1622. He was the son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and Duches ...
. In 1693, Charles Philip proved himself at the Battle of Neerwinden and was promoted to
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
by his brother
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
. He participated in the
War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarc ...
at the head of an auxiliary contingent. He joined the main force of
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice. Louis XIV ...
in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
.Samuel Buchholtz: ''Versuch einer Geschichte der Churmarck Brandenburg von der ersten Erscheinung der deutschen Sennonen an bis auf jezige Zeiten'', vols. 3-4, F. W. Birnstiel, 1767, p. 203 In Turin, he met Countess Caterina di Salmour (1670-1719), widow of Giovanni Gabaleone, Count di Salmour and daughter of Geofredo Alberico Balbiani, Marchese di Colcavagno by his wife, Marta-Maria Benso di Cavour, heiress of Isolabella. On the afternoon of 29 May 1695 three officers of Brandenburg's army, Col. Ludwig
von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...
, Lt. Col. von Hackeborn and Col. von Stille learned that Charles Philipp had lodged in the recently ruined
Palace of Venaria The Palace of Venaria (Italian: Reggia di Venaria Reale) is a former royal residence and gardens located in Venaria Reale, near Turin in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, included in ...
, near Turin, where he was about to marry the Countess di Salmour in secret. They hurried towards La Venaria. As they neared the château, the Margrave’s
Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...
met them on the road and confirmed the rumour. The Margrave had invited a small gathering to his secret wedding, including three women who were friends of the Countess, her brother Flaminio Balbiano, and some local
Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
notables; on the German side were a Prince of Hesse-Cassel and a Captain Beaupré, currently serving in Brandenburg’s army. The local priest Fr. Galli was summoned, and before him and in the presence of Abbot Alexander del Marro and the Chevalier Parella, they declared their determination to marry. But the priest refused to co-operate on the grounds that they were not his parishioners. The Abbot and Captain Beaupré fought; Staff intervened and the Margrave then fell upon the Master of Horse with drawn sword, who fled. Riding on, the three colonels came upon the Margrave, heading for the Countess’ house in Turin in his carriage with his escort. They joined the cavalcade, and when they reached the destination the Prince’s advisors implored him not to carry on. Neither the Elector of Brandenburg, nor the
Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...
recognized the marriage. To avoid diplomatic complications, Duke Victor Amadeus imprisoned Caterina in a convent. The
Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
supported Charles Philip's claim that the marriage was legal, in the hope that he would convert to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. While the issue was still being debated, Charles Philip died of a fever or (it was said) of a broken heart. He was buried in the Hohenzollern family crypt in
Berlin Cathedral The Berlin Cathedral (german: link=yes, Berliner Dom), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Evangelical church and dynastic tomb ( House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in centra ...
. Two years later, Rome ruled that the marriage was valid. The Elector still did not recognize it. In 1707, Caterina married the Saxon general Count .


References

* Johann Daniel Ferdinand Neigebaur: ''Die Heirath des Markgrafen Carl von Brandenburg mit der Markgräfin Catharina von Balbiano'', Kern, 1856,
Online
* Rob. Prütz: ''Deutsches Museum'', vol. 1, J.C. Hinrichs, 1856, p. 509 * Rudolf, Count von Kanitz: ''Aus dem Deutschen Soldatenleben: militairische Skizzen zur Deutschen Sittengeschichte'', W. Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1861, p. 261 ff


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Philip of Brandenburg-Schwedt House of Hohenzollern 1673 births 1695 deaths Margraves of Brandenburg-Schwedt 17th-century German people Burials at Berlin Cathedral