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
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, she was the only daughter of Prussian General and
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Gustav von Rauch
Johann Justus Georg Gustav von Rauch (1 April 1774, in Braunschweig – 2 April 1841, in Berlin) was a Prussian general of the infantry and Minister of War from 1837 to 1841.
Life
Gustav von Rauch was born as the eldest son of the later ...
by his second wife, Rosalie von
Holtzendorff (1790-1862). She had one half-brother
Adolf
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
from her father's previous marriage to Caroline von
Geusau (1780–1867) and three full brothers
Gustav
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
,
Fedor and
Albert von Rauch
Born into an aristocratic Prussian family, Albert Gustav Guido von Rauch (21 August 1829 – 28 January 1901) was a general of the infantry in the Prussian Army who fought in the Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War.
Life
He was born in ...
.
Biography
Rosalie was a maid of honour of
Princess Marianne of the Netherlands
Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (''Wilhelmina Frederika Louise Charlotte Marianne''; 9 May 1810 – 29 May 1883) was the youngest child of King William I of the Netherlands and Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia.
...
, wife of
Prince Albert, youngest son of
King 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 ...
. In
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
on 13 June 1853, she became the second wife of the Prussian prince, who had divorced his wife in 1849. Almost two weeks before the wedding, on 28 May, Rosalie was already created Countess of Hohenau (german: Gräfin von Hohenau). Due to her lower status, according to the laws of the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...
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 ...
, and the couple was forced to avoid the Prussian court. Albert was in conflict with his brother
King Frederick William IV, who opposed his divorce from Princess Marianne.
![Schloss Albrechtsberg Dresden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Schloss_Albrechtsberg_Dresden.jpg)
The couple resided for some time in
Meiningen, at the side of Albert's oldest daughter,
Hereditary Princess Charlotte, and later moved to a vineyard in
Loschwitz
Loschwitz is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters (''Stadtteile''):
Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river. At the top of the hillside is the quar ...
near
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 ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, where Albert had a residence,
Albrechtsberg Castle, erected in 1854. The Prussian ambassador in Dresden, Count Heinrich von
Redern (1804-1888), repeatedly ignored Rosalie at the court in Dresden, which is why she and her husband never appeared there.
After Albert's second eldest brother
William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
became King of Prussia in 1861, the family circumstances were relaxed. William I visited Albrechtsberg Castle and Rosalie was formally introduced as his brother's wife. After her husband's death Rosalie lived in retirement at Albrechtsberg Castle, where she died, aged 58.
Issue
* Georg Albrecht ''Wilhelm'', Count of Hohenau (b. Albrechtsberg Castle, 25 April 1854 - d. Bad Flinsburg, 28 October 1930), married firstly in Lorzendorf on 10 July 1878 to Laura, Countess
Saurma von und zu der Jeltsch (b. Lorzendorf, 6 October 1857 - d. Potsdam, 24 February 1884) and secondly in Slawentzitz on 25 October 1887 to Princess Margarethe of
Hohenlohe-Öhringen
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...
(b. Slawentzitz, 27 December 1865 - d. Dresden, 13 June 1940), daughter of Prince Hugo of Hohenlohe-Öhringen, Duke of
Ujest (son of
August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen
Frederick ''August'' Charles, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen (27 November 1784 – 15 February 1853) was a German general of the Napoleonic Wars and nobleman of the house of Hohenlohe.
Early life
August was born on 27 November 1784 in Breslau. ...
), and Princess Pauline
zu Fürstenberg, whose maternal uncle was
Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
Leopold (29 August 1790 – 24 April 1852) succeeded in 1830 as the Grand Duke of Baden, reigning until his death in 1852.
Although a younger child, Leopold was the first son of Margrave Karl Friederich of Baden by his second, morganatic wife, ...
.
*
Bernhard Wilhelm Albrecht ''Frederick'', Count of Hohenau (b. Albrechtsberg Castle, 21 May 1857 - d. Ochelhermsdorf, 15 April 1914), married in Berbisdorf on 21 June 1881 to Charlotte
von der Decken (b. Melkdorf, 23 April 1863 - d. Berlin, 30 January 1933).
Over ten years after Rosalie's death, her daughter-in-law Charlotte was involved in the "Kotze scandal", which lasted from the autumn of 1892 until the summer of 1894. Her son Fritz's wife was rumoured to be having an affair with Fritz's cousin Emperor
Wilhelm II
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United)
, signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
.
References
*Silke Marburg: ''European nobility: King John of Saxony (1801-1873) and the internal communication of a social formation'', Verlag Academy, 2008, p. 169.
*Ernst Heinrich Kneschke: ''
Neues allgemeines deutsches Adels-Lexicon
Neues allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon or New General German Aristocracy Lexicon is the title of a series of historical reference books written by Professor Dr. Ernst Heinrich Kneschke about the German aristocracy, including royalty and nobilit ...
'', vol. 4, 1863, p. 420.
Genealogical Databese dy Herbert Stoyan etrieved 18 June 2014Complete Genealogy of the House of Hohenozollern etrieved 18 June 2014Schloss Albrechtsberg Website (in German) etrieved 18 June 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rauch, Rosalie Von
1820 births
1879 deaths
German countesses
Morganatic spouses of German royalty
Rosalie