Duchess Auguste Elisabeth Marie of Württemberg (in German: ''Auguste Elisabeth Marie, Herzogin von Württemberg''; 30 October 1734 – 4 June 1787) was a member of the Ducal House of Württemberg and a Duchess of Württemberg by birth. Through her marriage to

Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Anselm Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (2 June 1733 – 13 November 1805) was the fourth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Reic ...

, Auguste was also a member of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis and Princess consort of Thurn and Taxis.

Life

Auguste was the sixth and youngest child of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg and his wife Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. In her youth, she had lived with her mother, until she entered the exclusive Ursuline convent in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

in 1750.Wilson, p. 245. In 1752, her eldest brother Karl Eugen had wanted her to marry a French prince of the blood to assist in his reorientation of Württemberg policy towards France. The match fell through however, and to save the cost of maintaining Auguste, she was instead married off to her maternal cousin

. Auguste married

on 3 September 1753 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg () was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a Imperial Estate, state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1803. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries was mainly du ...

. The couple settled in a wing of the Saint Emmeram’s Abbey in Regensburg. The marriage was arranged and unhappy. Auguste gave birth repeatedly until she suffered a difficult miscarriage in 1768, after which her health was damaged for a long time. In 1770, she gave birth to the first son who reached adulthood. Karl Anselm took many mistresses, and Auguste complained of ill-treatment to her brother, who wrote to her father-in-law, demanding more respect for his sister.Marita A. Panzer: Fürstinnen von Thurn und Taxis On 17 March 1773, Auguste’s spouse succeeded as the 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis. The marriage was at that point severely deteriorated. Auguste left Karl Anselm and settled in Paris. Rumours claimed that she lived with a lover. However, she was tormented by economical problems, ran out of funds and was hounded by creditors. In 1775, Auguste returned to Regensburg to attend the wedding of her daughter. Karl Anselm believed Auguste was plotting to murder him, and had her abducted and escorted from Regensburg. Auguste was first told that she was escorted to her brother in Stuttgart, but she was instead taken to Burg Trugenhofen (later renamed Schloss Taxis) in Dischingen, where she was imprisoned. She was later removed to strict house arrest at Schloss Hornberg in the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

, where she died on 4 June 1787. Following the death of his first wife, Karl Anselm married that same year morganatically to Elisabeth Hildebrand.

Marriage and issue

Auguste and

had eight children: *Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (born 10 July 1757 † 9 March 1776) :∞ 25 August 1774 Kraft Ernst, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Wallerstein (born about 1748 † 1802) * Princess Sophie Friederike of Thurn and Taxis (born 20 July 1758; † 31 May 1800) :∞ 31 December 1775 Prince Hieronim Wincenty Radziwiłł (11 May 1759-18 September 1786) :∞ around 1795 Prince Andrzej Kazanowski :∞ 1797 to a Count Mikolai Ostrorog *Prince Franz Johann Nepomuck of Thurn and Taxis (baptized 2 October 1759; † 22 January 1760) *Princess Henrica Karoline of Thurn and Taxis (baptized 25 April 1762; † 25 April 1784) :∞ 21 April 1783 with Johannes Aloysius II, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg *Prince Alexander Karl of Thurn and Taxis (born 19 April 1763; † 21 April 1763) *Princess Friederike Dorothea of Thurn and Taxis (born 11 September 1764 † 10 November 1764) *

Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Alexander Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (22 February 1770 – 15 July 1827) was the fifth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Ta ...

(born 22 February 1770; † 15 July 1827) :∞ 25 May 1789 with Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz *Prince Friedrich Johann Nepomuck of Thurn and Taxis (born 11 April 1772 † 7 December 1805), unmarried

Ancestry

References

Sources

* Wilson, Peter H. (2004). "Women and Imperial Politics: The Württemberg Consorts 1674–1757" in ''Queenship in Europe 1660–1815: The Role of the Consort''. Clarissa Campbell Orr (ed.). Cambridge University Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Auguste Of Wurttemberg, Duchess 1734 births 1787 deaths Princesses of Thurn und Taxis Nobility from Stuttgart Hereditary princesses of Thurn and Taxis Duchesses of Württemberg Daughters of dukes