Countess Pauline Marie von Königsegg-Aulendorf (1830–1912), was an Austrian noblewoman and Imperial court official.

Early life

''Pauline Marie'' was born as younger daughter of Count August von Bellegarde (1795-1873) and his wife, Baroness Julia von

Gudenus The Gudenus family is a prominent German nobility, German noble family, originating in Hesse, whose noble ancestry can be traced back to the 16th century. History Throughout centuries, the Gudenus family was divided into two lines. The first lin ...

(1795-1865). She was paternal granddaughter of Count

Heinrich von Bellegarde Count Heinrich von Bellegarde, Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia ( or sometimes ''Heinrich von Bellegarde''; 29 August 1756 – 22 July 1845), of a noble Savoyard family, was born in Saxony, joined the Saxon army and later entered Habsburg military ser ...

, who served as

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of Lombardy-Venetia.

Court life

She was the

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

, later promoted to the position of

Oberhofmeisterin Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ) or Chief Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ; ) is or was the title of the senior lady-in-waiting in the courts of Austria, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Imperial Russia, and the German princely and royal courts. Chief c ...

, where she replaced Countess Sophie Esterházy, a friend and close confidant of

Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Sophie of Austria (5 March 185529 May 1857) was the first child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She died aged two. Life Within two months of her marriage to Franz Joseph, Elisabeth was pregnant. On 5 Mar ...

. She was a favorite and confidant of the Empress Sissi. Countess Pauline was later awarded with an

Order of the Starry Cross The Order of the Starry Cross (also known as Order of the Star Cross or Star Cross Order; German: ''Sternkreuz-Orden'') is an imperial Austrian dynastic order for Catholic noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Ha ...

Personal life

On 15 April 1857 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, she married Count Alfred zu

Königsegg-Aulendorf Königsegg-Aulendorf was a county of southeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was created in 1622 as a baronial partition of the Barony of Königsegg, and it was raised to a county in 1629. By 1806, the territories of Königsegg-Aulendorf w ...

(1817-1898). They had one son: * Count Franz Xaver zu Königsegg-Aulendorf (1858-1927); married Countess Hedwig von Neipperg (1859-1916) and had issue.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', vol. 75, 1980, p. 182.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Königsegg 1830 births 1912 deaths Ladies-in-waiting from Austria-Hungary