french: Auguste Amélie Louise Georgie , spouse = , issue = Joséphine, Queen of Sweden and Norway
Eugénie, Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Auguste, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg
Amélie, Empress of Brazil
Théodoline, Countess Wilhelm of Württemberg
Princess Carolina
Maximilian, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg , birth_date = , birth_place =

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, religion =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg (german: Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia von Bayern) (

, 21 June 1788 –

, 13 May 1851) was the second child and eldest daughter of

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (german: Maximilian I. Joseph; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) ...

and

Princess Augusta Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess Augusta Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Augusta Wilhelmina Maria von Hessen-Darmstadt) (14 April 1765 – 30 March 1796) was Palatine Zweibrücken, Duchess consort of Zweibrücken by marriage to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, Maxi ...

. By marriage, she was a French princess.

Early life

Johann Joseph Langenhöffel - Auguste Wilhelmine

Augusta Amalia of Bavaria was the eldest daughter of

and

. In 1795, upon the death of her uncle, her father Maximilian became the reigning duke of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

, but the troops of the young

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

occupied his States. Augusta lost her mother to tuberculosis in 1796; a year later, her father married the young

Caroline of Baden Caroline of Baden (german: Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine von Baden; 13 July 1776 – 13 November 1841) was by marriage an Electress of Bavaria and later the first Queen consort of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. Life E ...

, who imposed a seriousness on her husband’s court that some considered beneficial. At first, Augusta did not like her stepmother, unlike her younger siblings Karl Theodore and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, as she was still attached to her late mother; however, Augusta and Caroline’s relationship improved over time. In 1799, upon the death of his distant cousin Charles Theodore, Maximilian became count-elector, Palatine of the Rhine and Duke-Elector of Bavaria as Maximilian III.

Marriage and issue

Although promised in marriage to the heir of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, originally, the engagement was broken at the behest of

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. On 14 January 1806 in Munich, Augusta married

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

, the only son of

Josephine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Coun ...

and Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais and stepson of Napoleon. In return, Napoleon raised Bavaria from a state to a Kingdom. Although a diplomatic marriage, this union would turn out to be a happy one. In 1817, Augusta's father named his son-in-law

Duke of Leuchtenberg Duke of Leuchtenberg was a title created twice by List of rulers of Bavaria, the monarchs of Bavaria for their relatives. The first creation was awarded by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria to his son Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus, upon whose death ...

and Prince of Eichstädt, with the style ''

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes ...

''. Augusta and Eugène had seven children: * Princess Joséphine Maximiliane Eugénie Napoléonne de Beauharnais (1807–1876); married

Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859) was King of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte. The only child of King Charles XIV John, Oscar i ...

, himself the son of Napoleon's old love,

Désirée Clary Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary ( sv, Eugenia Bernhardina Desideria; 8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a former Fr ...

. * Princess Eugénie Hortense Auguste de Beauharnais (1808–1847); married Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. * Prince Auguste Charles Eugène Napoléon de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg (1810–1835); married

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

. There was no issue from this marriage. * Princess Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais (31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873); married

Pedro I of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he List of ...

(father of

and

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

) and became Empress of Brazil. * Princess Theodelinde Louise Eugénie Auguste Napoléone de Beauharnais (1814–1857); married Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach. * Princess ''Carolina'' Clotilde de Beauharnais (1816) * Prince Maximilian Josèphe Eugène Auguste Napoléon de Beauharnais (1817–1852); married Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia, eldest daughter of

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...

and received the title of "Prince Romanovsky" with the style "

Imperial Highness His/Her Imperial Highness (abbreviation HIH) is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote ''imperial'' – as opposed to ''royal'' – status to show that the holder in question is descended from an emperor rather than a king ( ...

" in 1852.

Death

Augusta had outlived her husband and three of her children by the time she died in 1851 at the age of 63 in

. At that time, France's president was her nephew Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the son of Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland, the sister of Prince Eugène.

Gallery

Image: 1788auguste-amalie1.jpg, A young Princess Augusta. Image: The-marriage-of-eugene-de-beauharnais-francois-guillaume-menageot.jpg, Augusta's marriage to Eugène de Beauharnais, by François Guillaume Menageot Image: Andrea Appiani - Auguste Amalie de Beauharnais, Vizekönigin von Italien, mit ihren Töchtern Josephine und Eugenie 1809.jpg, Augusta with her daughters Joséphine and Eugénie Image: Wittelsbachergruft - St. Michael - Auguste von Bayern.jpg, Tomb of Augusta of Bavaria

Honours

* : Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Isabel The Order of Queen Saint Isabel ( pt, Ordem da Rainha Santa Isabel) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of which the Grand Mistress is the Duchess of Braganza. History King John VI of Portugal created the order on 4 November 1801 in honour of ...

, ''1 December 1834''

Ancestry

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Augusta of Bavaria, Princess 1788 births 1851 deaths House of Wittelsbach Bavarian princesses Beauharnais Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Duchesses of Leuchtenberg Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich Daughters of kings