Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (8 February 1857 – 28 August 1895) was a German princess. She was the second child of

Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau (14 September 1837, Dessau – 12 May 1906, Friedrichroda) was a princess from the House of Ascania. She was the third child of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Frederica of Prussia. Family Maria Ann ...

. The

Elisabeth-Anna-Palais The Elisabeth-Anna-Palais is a secular red-brick building in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, located at the northeast of the Schlossgarten Oldenburg, close to the Schloss Oldenburg. History Usually the ducal family resided in Schloss Oldenbur ...

was named in her honor after her early death in 1895.

Family

Elisabeth's father Prince Frederick was the eldest son of

Prince Charles of Prussia Prince Frederick Charles Alexander of Prussia (german: Friedrich Karl Alexander; 29 June 1801 – 21 January 1883) was a younger son of Frederick William III of Prussia. He served as a Prussian general for much of his adult life and became the fir ...

, who in turn was a younger son of

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

. Elisabeth's mother Maria Anna was a daughter of

Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt 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 ...

and Princess

Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia Princess Frederica of Prussia (30 September 1796 – 1 January 1850) was a daughter of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. By her marriage to Leopold IV, Duke o ...

. Her siblings included Marie, Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, and

Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (german: Joachim Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold; 14 November 1865 – 13 September 1931) was a son of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau, married in 1854. Family ...

. Through her sister Louise Margaret, Elisabeth Anna was an aunt of Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden, and consequently was related to both the British and Swedish royal families. Elisabeth Anna was a godmother to

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, she re ...

, who was another one of her nieces.

Marriage

On 18 February 1878, Elisabeth Anna married Frederick Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg. It was a double wedding, in which

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_ ...

(daughter of the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

and

Crown Princess A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

) married Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen on the same day as Elisabeth Anna in Berlin. The marriages were the first such occasions performed since Prussia had become the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1870. Due to this increased status, the weddings were attended by many important personages, including King

Leopold II of the Belgians * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

and his wife

Queen Marie Henriette Marie Henriette Anne of Austria (23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II. The marriage was arranged against the will of both Marie Henriette and Leopold and became unhappy due to their dis ...

. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

also attended, as one of the brides (Charlotte) was his niece.Radziwill, p. 118. Frederick Augustus was said to be pleased with his beautiful and charming bride, and their marriage was a harmonious one. Elisabeth Anna and her husband had two daughters: Elisabeth died on 28 August 1895, before he succeeded as Grand Duke. Before her death, her husband had been building a new residential palace; once she died, Frederick named the new building the

in her honor. Her husband later married

Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (10 August 1869 – 3 September 1955) was a daughter of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg by his third wife Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. By her marriage to Frederick Augustu ...

, daughter of

Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis II (German: ''Friedrich Franz II;'' 28 February 1823 – 15 April 1883) was a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the e ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth Anna Of Prussia, Princess 1857 births 1895 deaths People from Potsdam Prussian princesses Grand Duchesses of Oldenburg House of Hohenzollern Burials at the Ducal Mausoleum, Gertrudenfriedhof (Oldenburg)