The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beautiful hope (Part five)

Read part four here.

Therese got up early to practice what she would say to Napoleon. She arrived at St. Cloud at 1:30 p.m. She was greeted by Empress Joséphine, who wanted to meet her due to their newfound close relationship after the wedding of Eugène and Therese’s cousin, Auguste. She was then introduced to the Emperor, who told her she looked like her sister, Louise, but she looked more unhappy. Therese replied that her husband’s fame and fortune were lost. Then came the discussion about the postal services, and his main worries were the family’s close ties to Austria. Therese later wrote, “I begged him to test our loyalty and give us his trust.”¹ Even some of their confiscated lands were discussed, and Therese returned with “a little hope in her soul.”² Therese had managed to meet many members of Napoleon’s family and had become friendly with Hortense, who was Empress Joséphine’s daughter and the wife of Louis Bonaparte.

In October, she received word that Count Maximilian had arrived in Paris, and they spent some time together. At the end of the month, she had another audience with Napoleon, but he was dissatisfied with the King of Prussia. She tried to calm him down and broached the subject of the confiscated lands again. He agreed to lift the confiscation and asked her to consider it as “a bouquet of flowers.”³ The fate of the postal service was still unclear, and a letter made things even worse. The secret police had intercepted a letter from Frederica to Therese in which Napoleon was referred to as the “devil” several times. The following day, Therese was questioned by the secret police.

Therese eventually left in December, only with the return of the confiscated lands and another pregnancy. She arrived back in Regensburg on 13 December. The following year, she once again travelled to Heiligenberg and gave birth to a daughter on 16 June 1808; she was named Amalie. When she returned to Regensburg, she brought her son, Georg, much to the confusion of the people at court. Therese later told her husband that the boy was her brother’s son. The Count had recently departed the court to become ambassador to Kassel, and Therese wrote to her brother, “Not long ago, the world was still beautiful.”⁴ The following year, Therese once again met with Napoleon – this time she was ready to pitch the plan of a unified postal service. Napoleon liked the idea and promised to unify the post and grant it to the House of Thurn and Taxis. The following year, Napoleon suffered his first defeat in battle, and the promise was not fulfilled.

Therese’s sister, Louise, was able to return to Berlin after nearly three years, and almost the entire family gathered around her. During this time, Therese was in Frankfurt with her two eldest daughters. She was once again pregnant, and at seven months, she was ignoring all inquiries. She eventually went back to Heiligenberg, where she gave birth to another daughter on 23 September 1809. She was named Louise. Tragedy struck the following month when the child’s father, Count Maximilian, died in Kassel. The circumstances of his death were not recorded. However, Therese was present at his deathbed and closed his eyes as stated in a letter of hers.⁵ With the death of their father, the three children not in Therese’s care would need to find a new home. Amalie was eventually adopted by Count Maximilian’s wife. The twins and Louise went into the care of Charlotte Christina Bunsen, who ran a girls’ school in Frankfurt.⁶

With the Count’s death, there were hopes of a reconciliation between Therese and Karl Alexander, but Therese was considering a stay in Paris. After some back and forth, she arrived in Paris in December 1809. She was able to meet Napoleon again in January 1810, and he confirmed to her that a unified postal system would not happen. She later wrote, “The beautiful hope with which the Emperor flattered us in Erfurt has vanished like a beautiful dream.”⁷ She lingered in Paris for several months, hoping that Napoleon would change his mind. She tried to convince Karl Alexander to move to Paris, as it would perhaps be beneficial to be near Napoleon. He disagreed and asked her to return as soon as possible. Therese got caught up in the pre-wedding celebrations of Napoleon and Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria and even let her 15-year-old daughter, Marie Therese, attend some of the festivities. Therese began to consider who would marry her daughter, and one option was her sister Charlotte’s eldest son, Joseph.

Meanwhile, she was still mourning for Count Maximilian, something she could only share with her brother, Georg. On 7 May 1810, she withdrew for a few days, as it was the anniversary of the day that she had first met him. She wrote, “The day is heavy in my heart, but I endured bravely. I didn’t want to spoil my children’s joy.”⁸ More sadness was yet to come. Therese’s sister Louise had travelled to Neustrelitz for a little family reunion when she fell ill, and she deteriorated quickly. Therese wrote to their brother Georg, “Every day I live through is an eternity. God, when will I find out how she is? My heart is full of anxious worry.”⁹ Louise died on 19 July 1810 at the age of 34.

Therese wrote to her siblings, “Louise, Louise, you angel, you our pride, our happiness. It’s already possible here on earth that she has been taken from us. Oh George, Oh Frederica – what a loss! If only I could have shared your care. Could have said something to this lovely angel. Did she still think of us with love? Oh, tell me everything, everything. Was her end gentle? […] She was everything, the sunshine that enlivened everything.”¹⁰

Read part six here.

1. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.253
2. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.253
3. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.267
4. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.271
5. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.288
6. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.289-290
7. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.299
8. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.304
9. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.307
10. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.308