George Bernhard of Anhalt-Dessau (21 February 1796 – 16 October 1865), was a German prince of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

from the

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

branch.

Early life

He was born in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

on 21 February 1796. He was the second son of

Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau (27 December 1769 – 27 May 1814), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and heir to the principality (and from 1807 the duchy) of Anhalt-Dessau. He was born in Dessau, the only surviving child of Leopold III, P ...

, by his wife

Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg , title = Hereditary Princess of Anhalt-Dessau , image = Johann Friedrich August Tischbein - Christiane Amalie Erbprinzessin von Anhalt-Dessau.jpg , caption = , reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , ...

. His paternal grandparents were

Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the Principality of Anh ...

and

Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt Louise Henriette Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Schwedt (24 September 1750 in Różanki – 21 December 1811 in Dessau), was a Margravine of Brandenburg by birth and by marriage a princess, and later Duchess, of Anhalt-Dessau. Life Louise was t ...

. His maternal grandparents were

Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick V Louis William Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (30 January 1748, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe – 20 January 1820, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) was from 1751 to his death landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. He was born under Europe's Ancie ...

and

Princess Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt (2 March 1746, Buchsweiler – 18 September 1821, Homburg) was Landgravine consort of Hesse-Homburg by marriage to Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. She had seven siblings who survived to adulthood and interm ...

Personal life

On 6 August 1825, George Bernhard was married to Karoline Auguste Louise Amalie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1804–1829) in

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

. She was a daughter of Prince Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (himself a son of

Frederick Charles, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Prince Frederick Charles of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (7 June 1736 – 13 April 1793) was a German Natural History collector, and from 1790 until his death the reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Life Frederick Charles of Schwarzburg-Rud ...

) and Louise Ulrike of Hesse-Homburg, George's aunt. Before her death on 14 January 1829, they had two children: #Louise (1826–1900), who died unmarried. #Frederick (1828–1828), who died in infancy. On 4 October 1831. he married, for a second time, to

Therese Emma von Erdmannsdorf Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese *Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg *Therese of Br ...

(1807–1848) in Dresden. The marriage was

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 spous ...

as she was of lesser nobility. Shortly after their marriage, she was created Countess of Raina. Before her death in 1848, they had seven children: # Count Franz of Raina (1832–1879), who died unmarried at

Schloss Gross-Kühnau ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

in 1879. # Countess Mathilde of Raina (1833–1917), who married Otto von Könneritz (1835–1866) in 1859. # Countess Helene of Raina (1835–1860), who was adopted by her uncle William in 1855 and given the title of "Princess of Anhalt" by the reigning duke

Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt (1 October 1794 – 22 May 1871) was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1817 until 1853 he was ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1847 until 1853 also ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. ...

; she married

Frederick Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name) Frederick is a masculine given name meaning "peaceful ruler". It is the English form of the German name Friedrich. Its meaning is derived from the Germanic word elements ''frid'', or peace ...

, the widow of her paternal aunt Amalie Auguste, in 1855; a union that was considered morganatic according to the family law of the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture to his elder sister, Princess Marie An ...

.House Laws of Schwarzburg
/ref> # Countess Emma of Raina (1837–1909), who died unmarried. # Countess Maria of Raina (1839–1931), who died unmarried. # Count Rudolph of Raina (1842–1921), who married Emma Elisabeth Klara Marie Paris (1857–1932) in 1882. # Count Karl of Raina (1844–1900), who married Cosima von Mörner (1865–1936) in Berlin in 1887; the marriage was childless and the couple divorced in 1893. He married Countess Marie von der Groeben (1841–1894) in 1894. She died four months after the marriage. Therese Emma, Countess of Raina, died on 28 February 1848 in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

. Prince George Bernhard died in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

on 16 October 1865.

References

External links

Unofficial Royalty
{{DEFAULTSORT:George Bernhard of Anhalt-Dessau 1796 births 1865 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau Princes of Anhalt-Dessau