Margareta Fouché d'Otrante, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (28 March 1909 – 25 August 2005) was the wife of

Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Gustav Albrecht Alfred Franz Friedrich Otto Emil Ernst; 28 February 1907 – 1944) was prince and head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. He was the son of Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-W ...

, and mother of

Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin; 29 October 1934 – 13 March 2017) was the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark. Early lif ...

, who married

Princess Benedikte of Denmark Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid, born 29 April 1944) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid o ...

Biography

The daughter of Charles Louis Fouché, 6th Duke of Otranto (a descendant of Napoleonic statesman

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. H ...

) and his first wife, Countess Hedvig Ingeborg Madeleine Douglas (a descendant of

Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden Ludwig I (9 February 1763 – 30 March 1830) succeeded as Grand Duke of Baden on 8 December 1818. He was the uncle of his predecessor Karl Ludwig Friedrich, and his death marked the end of the Zähringen line of the House of Baden. He was s ...

), she was born Margareta Fouché d'

Otrante Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

in Elghammar, Sweden. Her husband, ''

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' Gustav Albrecht, was the head of the

mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...

princely house of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

. He went missing in action in 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was declared legally dead in 1969. From 1944 to 1955, after her husband was reported missing, Margareta became the guardian for her son, Prince Richard, and managed her late husband's properties. The family went into exile in her native

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Prince Richard later married

, sister of

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

and Anne-Marie of Greece.

References

External links

* 1909 births 2005 deaths House of Sayn-Wittgenstein Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog People from Gnesta Municipality {{noble-stub