Life

Family and early years

Her parents' marriage was unhappy due to Prince Albert's several affairs, and finally was dissolved on 28 March 1849, after which Princess Marianne began to live with her former coachman Johannes van Rossum, with whom she had a son, Johannes William of Reinhartshausen. The custody of Charlotte and her two surviving siblings

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and

Alexandrine Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French '' Rom ...

was given to their father; however, their childless aunt Queen Elisabeth Ludovika took care of them, moreover after Prince Albert's second and morganatic marriage in 1853 with

Rosalie von Rauch Rosalie von Rauch (''Rosalie Wilhelmine Johanna''; 29 August 1820 – 5 March 1879), was a German noblewoman and, since 1853, Countess of Hohenau. Early life Born in Berlin, she was the only daughter of Prussian General and Minister of War Gustav ...

, who bore him two sons, Count William and Count Frederick of Hohenau.

Marriage

As a young woman, Charlotte was highly eligible, due to her Dutch fortune and Hohenzollern connections. In

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

on 18 May 1850, the nineteen-year-old princess married Georg, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, who was twenty-four years old. The only son of

Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard II (17 December 1800, in Meiningen – 3 December 1882, in Meiningen) was a Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Family He was the only son of Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Bernhard was a ...

and

Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel (german: Marie Wilhelmine Friederike von Hessen-Kassel; 21 January 1796 – 30 December 1880) was the consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Early life Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, second dau ...

, he had led a battalion from Meiningen in support of the Prussians in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

in 1849. After resuming his military career in Berlin, Georg soon became engaged to Charlotte, whose position as a niece of

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

surely recommended her to him. It was a love match and their marriage occurred after a short engagement. Among the wedding gifts was an opulent old villa on Lake Como from her mother Marianne, as well as a substantial collection of paintings and sculptures. It was renamed the

Villa Carlotta Villa Carlotta is a villa and botanical garden in Tremezzo on Lake Como in Northern Italy. Today the villa is a museum, whose collection includes works by sculptors such as Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Giovanni Migliara; painters such ...

in the bride's honour. Due to their Prussian connections, the couple spent the next five years in Berlin and Potsdam but returned to Meiningen for the birth of their children. The two shared many interests, particularly with the theatre, as they were both ardent attendees; during their engagement, they had even acted in amateur court theatricals together. They had four children. Charlotte had a talent for music, and was taught by the likes of

Wilhelm Taubert Carl Gottfried Wilhelm Taubert (23 March 1811 – 7 January 1891) was a German pianist, composer, and conductor, and the father of philologist and writer Emil Taubert. Life Born in Berlin, Taubert studied under Ludwig Berger (piano) and Bernhard ...

Theodor Kullak Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...

and

Julius Stern Julius Stern (8 August 1820 – 27 February 1883) was a Jewish German musical pedagogue and composer. Biography Stern was born at Breslau. He received his elementary education in music from the violinist Peter Lüstner, and at the age of nine p ...

in her youth. She wrote a number of military marches, songs and piano pieces. Her daughter, Princess Marie Elisabeth, would inherit these interests.

Death

On 27 January 1855, their second son, Georg died. Charlotte followed him two months later, dying of childbirth complications on 30 March at the age of twenty-three. Georg was inconsolable, but would eventually remarry to

Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Princess Feodora Victoria Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (7 July 1839 – 10 February 1872) was a daughter of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen. She married Georg of Saxe-Meiningen and was Duchess o ...

in order to provide a mother to his remaining children. He succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in 1866, ten years after Charlotte's death.

Issue

Charlotte of Prussia, hereditary princess of Saxe-Meiningen, with her children

Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1 April 1851 – 16 January 1928), was the last reigning duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Biography Bernhard was born on 1 April 1851 at Meiningen in what was then the German Confederation, as the eldest son of Georg ...

(1 April 1851 - 16 January 1928); married

Princess Charlotte of Prussia English: Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia , death_date = , death_ ...

and had issue. * Prince Georg Albrecht (12 April 1852 - 27 January 1855); died in infancy. * Princess Marie Elisabeth (23 September 1853 - 22 February 1923); died unmarried. * An unnamed son (29 March 1855 - 30 March 1855).

Ancestry

References

;Works cited * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Of Prussia 1831 births 1855 deaths Deaths in childbirth House of Hohenzollern Prussian princesses House of Saxe-Meiningen Princesses of Saxe-Meiningen People from Berlin 19th-century Prussian people 19th-century Prussian women