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 Easter gift from King Frederick William IV.¹ In 1850, she travelled to England and wrote to her cousin Mathilde, “I was interrupted, dear Mathilde, and can only continue my letter here in beautiful Liverpool, which is so bustling, and especially so frequented by steamships, that one doesn’t know where to look first; six to eight were sailing at a great speed every now and then when I stood on the pier yesterday.[…] The shops here are most elegant, and the lighting so brilliant that one would think one were seeing ballrooms.”² In 1851 and 1852, she was in Florence and Rome.

She loved travelling to Switzerland and purchased a small vineyard near Vevey with the permission of the Prussian King. She wrote, “This single acre of land bears the most beautiful grapes and has a most charming view of the lake and the mountains.”³ She had a house built on the land, which was named Villa Augusta.⁴ Auguste wished to be “left in peace.”⁵ Nevertheless, she often received guests and relatives.

Even the future Emperor William II wrote, “Among the relatives we frequently visited, I remember first and foremost Princess Liegnitz, my great-grandfather Frederick William III’s second wife. I remember her as a sunny, gentle and kind old lady who enjoyed the veneration of all members of our family. My parents, too, were very fond of her and often sent me to her with flowers; she lived in the villa named after her at the entrance to Sanssouci Park. I can still see before me the loving expression on her face, from which a good, gentle heart spoke. She maintained her difficult position with the utmost tact throughout her life and thereby won universal veneration.”⁶Princess Alexandrine wrote, “As children, whenever we were in Potsdam, we always had to visit the princess, our step-grandmother, and we children loved her very much.”⁷

From 1850 on, Auguste was a regular visitor to the waters at Homburg vor der Höhe. She usually stayed about four weeks each time. In 1873, Auguste too made the journey to Homburg vor der Höhe. She was joined by her chamberlain, her retinue and several servants. At the time of her arrival, she already felt quite unwell. She stayed at Promenade 22 with August Hammelmann.⁸

On 5 June 1873 at 5.30 p.m., Auguste died in her apartments. Her cause of death was listed as exhaustion.⁹ That same evening, orders arrived from the Prussian King to give her the same honours as a royal princess.¹⁰

The following Sunday, a church service was held for her at Promenade 22. Wreaths from several royals decorated the place. On Monday, the coffin was transported to Berlin by railway. From there, a horse-drawn hearse escorted her to Charlottenburg, where she was interred in the mausoleum with her husband and his first wife. Her funeral was attended by the Prussian royal family and her own relatives.¹¹ The German Imperial Gazette wrote, “It was the late Princess who illuminated his [King Frederick William III] life and proved herself a faithful caregiver and companion until the very end.” ¹²

Victoria, Princess Royal and German Crown Princess wrote to her mother, Queen Victoria, “The day before yesterday was Princess Liegnitz’s funeral. We were not a large company, only the royal family and their suites, the poor Princess’s family, that is, her brother Count Harrach, his wife, their three sons and daughter-in-law (the Countess Pourtalès’s daughter). The day was splendid, and the quiet walk through the garden of Charlottenburg to the mausoleum was very beautiful. At the side entrance stood the whole household of the Princess – all her servants, etc. The little vault was all draped with black and lit with massive silver candlesticks, and the coffin, also black and silver, was covered with flowers; the sunlight poured in through the leaves and boughs and the little windows, lighting up poor uncle Albrecht’s coffin, which stood close by; the birds sang so loud that they almost drowned the clergyman’s voice. The service was short and simple. We all walked back to the Schloss with a soothing and pleasant impression in our minds. A marble slab with the Princess’s name will be let into the floor between the lying statues of Frederick William III and Queen Louise, just above the spot where the Princess’s coffin stands.”¹³

1. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.150
2. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.153
3. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.155
4. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.155
5. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.159
6. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.159
7. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.159
8. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.167
9. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.167
10. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.167
11. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.168
12. Fürstin von Liegnitz by Paul and Gisela Habermann p.170
13. Darling Child edited by Roger Fulford p.95-96