Duchess Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz (20 March 1691 – 17 March 1743) was a duchess of

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Zeitz) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to ...

by birth and by marriage Landgravine of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

Life

Dorothea Wilhelmine was a daughter of the Duke Maurice William of Saxe-Zeitz (1664–1718) from his marriage to Marie Amalie (1670–1739), daughter of the Elector Frederick William I of Brandenburg. By 1710 all her siblings had died and so, after her father's death Dorothea Wilhelmine was the last surviving member of the house of

. She married on 27 September 1717 in

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded und ...

with future Landgrave

William VIII of Hesse-Kassel William VIII (10 March 1682 – 1 February 1760) ruled the German Landgraviate Hesse-Kassel from 1730 until his death, first as regent (1730–1751) and then as landgrave (1751–1760). Life Born in Kassel, he was the seventh son of Charles I, La ...

(1682–1760). Queen Caroline of Great Britain reported to the

Duchess of Orleans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

, the Landgravine ''"was ugly and had a weird head"''. Dorothea Wilhelmine became mentally ill and no longer appeared in public after 1725. The new first lady at court was the Landgrave's favorite

Barbara Christine von Bernhold Barbara Christine von Bernhold (1690 - 1756), was a German noblewoman and court lady. She was the official royal mistress of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1711-1730, and the political adviser, first lady and head of the court of William ...

whom he made Countess Bernold of Eschau while Dorothea Wilhelmine was still alive.

Issue

From their marriage, Dorothea Wilhelmine had the following children: * Charles (1718–1719) * Frederick II (1720–1785), Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel : married 1740

Princess Mary of Great Britain Princess Mary of Great Britain (5 March 1723 – 14 January 1772) was the second-youngest daughter of George II of Great Britain and his wife, Caroline of Ansbach, and Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel as the wife of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-K ...

(1723–1772) * Maria Amalia (1721–1744), she died while engaged to be married with Margrave

Charles Frederick Albert of Brandenburg-Schwedt Karl Friedrich Albrecht, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (10 June 1705 – 22 June 1762), a grandson of Frederick William of Brandenburg (''the Great Elector'') and son of Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, was a Prussian militar ...

References

* Carl Eduard Vehse
''Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation'' p. 152 ff

External links

* http://www.vhghessen.de/inhalt/zhg/ZHG_106/04_Loewenstein_Hofhaltung.pdf (PDF file, 56 kB) House of Wettin 1691 births 1743 deaths 18th-century German people Duchesses of Saxe-Zeitz Landgravines of Hesse-Kassel Albertine branch {{Germany-duchess-stub