Princess Augusta Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Augusta Wilhelmina Maria von Hessen-Darmstadt) (14 April 1765 – 30 March 1796) was Duchess consort of Zweibrücken by marriage to Maximilian, Duke of Zweibrücken and the mother of King

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

Biography

Augusta Wilhelmina was born at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

, the fourth daughter and ninth child of

Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt (11 July 1722 – 21 June 1782) was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was born in Darmstadt. He was the second son of Landgrave Louis VIII and Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg ...

(second son of

Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis VIII (German: ''Ludwig'') (5 April 1691 – 17 October 1768) was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1739 to 1768. He was the son of Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Li ...

) and Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg.

Marriage

Dryander - Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt

On 30 September 1785, in Darmstadt, Augusta Wilhelmina married Maximilian, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (later King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria). Maximilian was an officer in the French army stationed at

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 ...

, but the couple also often visited

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. There, Augusta Wilhelmina met Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

, with whom she maintained an ongoing correspondence. In 1789, Maximilian's regiment rose in

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

and he and Augusta Wilhelmina fled to her parents' home in Darmstadt. For the next five years, they lived mostly in the neighboring town of

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

. In December 1794, the French army attacked Mannheim. Augusta Wilhelmina fled the city when her home was shelled by French artillery.

Duchess of Zweibrücken

In April 1795, Maximilian succeeded his brother as reigning Duke of Zweibrücken; however, his duchy was entirely occupied by the French. In March 1796, Augusta Wilhelmina, who had always had delicate lungs, finally succumbed and died at . Her death plunged Maximilian into deep mourning. He wrote some poems in memory of his wife. She was buried in the Schlosskirche in Darmstadt.Hans Rall, ''Wittelsbacher Lebensbilder von Kaiser Ludwig bis zur Gegenwart'' (Munich: Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds), 142.

Issue

Augusta Wilhelmina had five children: *

Prince Ludwig 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 ...

(1786–1868), married

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen (8 July 1792 – 26 October 1854) was queen of Bavaria as the wife of King Ludwig I. Biography Therese was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of ...

. * Princess Augusta Amalia Ludovika, (21 June 1788 – 13 May 1851), 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 ma ...

, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince of Eichstätt. * Princess Amalia Maria Augusta (9 October 1790 – 24 January 1794), died in childhood. * Princess Caroline Augusta (8 February 1792 – 9 February 1873), married

William I of Württemberg William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl; 27 September 178125 June 1864) was King of Württemberg from 30 October 1816 until his death. Upon William's accession, Württemberg was suffering crop failures and famine in the "Year Without a Summer", ...

, and then

Francis II of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

. * Prince Karl Theodor Maximilian (7 July 1795 – 16 August 1875).

Ancestry

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Winkler, Wilhelm. "Die Mutter König Ludwig I. von Bayern nach ungedruckten Briefen", ''Die Wächter'' (1924). {{DEFAULTSORT:Augusta Wilhelmine Of Hesse-Darmstadt, Landgravine 1765 births 1796 deaths House of Hesse-Darmstadt House of Wittelsbach Nobility from Darmstadt 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Germany