Auguste von Harrach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Auguste von Harrach – “A sunny, gentle and kind old lady” (Part five)

Read part four here. Over the next few years, Auguste travelled to Switzerland several times. In 1844, Auguste moved into a house on the edge of Sanssouci Park, which is now called Villa Liegnitz. She was often visited by Princess Marie, the wife of her stepson, Prince Charles. While travelling in 1847, she received an [read more]
Auguste von Harrach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Auguste von Harrach – The “little stepmother” (Part four)

Read part three here. Their last trip together took place in the summer of 1839. King Frederick William’s health declined quickly in the spring of 1840. Bishop Eylert, who had married the couple, wrote, “The ruler’s seventh decade was near, a high stage he had reached, when he began to age and visibly deteriorate. His [read more]
Auguste von Harrach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Auguste von Harrach – “An expression of great modesty” (Part three)

Read part two here. Suspicion of the new Catholic Princess of Liegnitz ran high in Berlin. Strange rumours began to spread, including one that claimed that Auguste had been sold to the King by her parents. Auguste’s parents also received the displeasure of the public. It would take some time before Auguste would win the [read more]
Auguste von Harrach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Auguste von Harrach – “The chosen betrothed of the mighty lord” (Part two)

Read part one here. The children were shocked, and “a palpable  sense of emotion was evident in every face; even the sons could not hold back their tears.” His daughter Charlotte was devastated but resigned herself to the situation. She wrote, “Princess Liegnitz has not introduced the slightest change into the course of daily life.” Her [read more]
Auguste von Harrach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Auguste von Harrach – A “beautiful, modest and gentle girl” (Part one)

Fourteen years after the death of his first wife, Queen Louise, King Frederick William III of Prussia entered into a morganatic marriage with Countess Auguste von Harrach. Auguste was born on 30 August 1800 in Dresden, the daughter of Count Ferdinand Joseph von Harrach zu Rohrau and Christiane, Baroness von Rayski. Her father did not [read more]
Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt

The future Queen Louise of Prussia was just six years old when her mother died following childbirth with her tenth child. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt was born on 20 August 1752 as the eldest daughter of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was the second son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Maria [read more]