Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (Caroline Henriette Christiane Philippine Louise; 9 March 1721 – 30 March 1774) was

Landgravine Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title, rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("du ...

of Hesse-Darmstadt by marriage to Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was famed as one of the most learned women of her time and known as The Great Landgräfin. Together with Louis IX, her husband, she became the

most recent common ancestor A most recent common ancestor (MRCA), also known as a last common ancestor (LCA), is the most recent individual from which all organisms of a set are inferred to have descended. The most recent common ancestor of a higher taxon is generally assu ...

s of all current sovereigns of hereditary

monarchies in Europe In the history of Europe, European history, monarchy was the prevalent form of government throughout the Middle Ages, only occasionally competing with Medieval commune, communalism, notably in the case of the maritime republics and the Old Swiss ...

in 2022 after

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

became

King of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

Biography

Caroline was the daughter of Christian III, Duke of Zweibrücken and his wife Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken. Caroline married on 12 August 1741 in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

, Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The marriage was arranged and unhappy: Caroline was interested in music and literature, while Louis was interested in military matters. She lived separated from him at Buchsweiler. In 1772, Caroline promoted the politician Friedrich Karl von Moser. Caroline was better known as The Great Landgräfin, a name given to her by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

. She befriended several writers and philosophers of her time, such as

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( ; ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a Prussian philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. He wa ...

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer, representative of literary Rococo. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the ...

and Goethe. Wieland wished he had the power to make her ''Queen of Europa''. Caroline also had contact with

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

. She was one of the few women that the ''Alte Fritz'' respected, and he famously referred to her as ''the Glory and Wonder of our century''; after Caroline's death, he sent an urn to Darmstadt with the text ''femina sexu, ingenio vir'' ('A woman by sex, a man by spirit').Philipp A. Pauli: Darmstadt: Eine historisch-topographische Skizze und Excursionen in die Umgegend. Will, 1815, S. 89. Caroline and her husband became the most recent common ancestors of all reigning hereditary European monarchs in 2022 after

became

Issue

Ancestry

References

External links

Wikisource: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' "Karoline Landgräfin von Hessen-Darmstadt" (in German)
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Caroline of Zweibrucken, Countess Palatine 1721 births 1774 deaths House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken People from Strasbourg Landgravines of Hesse-Darmstadt Countesses Palatine of Zweibrücken Daughters of counts Mothers of German monarchs

Biography

Issue

Ancestry

See also

References

Further reading

External links