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From the Emperor’s Desk: Oops, I meant to post this yesterday. 😊

Princess Augusta of Württemberg (October 4, 1826 – December 3, 1898) was a daughter of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and his wife, Princess Pauline Therese of Württemberg.

Her father, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg was named Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Württemberg (known as “Fritz” until the beginning of his reign) and was the eldest son Prince Friedrich of Württemberg (1754–1816) who was the last Duke of Württemberg from 1797 to 1803, then the first and only Prince-Elector of Württemberg from 1803 to 1806, and then the first King of Württemberg when Württemberg was raised to a kingdom in 1806 with the approval of Napoleon I. King Friedrich was known for his size, 6 ft 11 in and about 440 lb.

King Wilhelm I of Württemberg’s mother was Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1764–1788), was the eldest child of Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and reigning Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife Princess Augusta of Great Britain, the first born child of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg daughter of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1679–1740).

Princess Augusta of Great Britain was the first born grandchild of George II of Great Britain and Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the elder sister of King George III of the United Kingdom.

Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was named in honour of her mother and grandmother. Augusta’s younger sister, Duchess Caroline, would marry her first cousin and the future King George IV of the United Kingdom.

Princess Augusta of Württemberg’s mother, Princess Pauline Therese of Württemberg was born in Riga, one of the five children of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg and his wife, Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg, a daughter of Prince Charles Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Carolina of Orange-Nassau, daughter of Willem IV, Prince of Orange and his wife Anne of Great Britain, Princess Royal and the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

Princess Augusta of Württemberg’s siblings included Maria Dorothea, Archduchess of Austria; Amelia, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen; Elisabeth Alexandrine, Princess of Baden, and Duke Alexander of Württemberg himself the founder of the Teck branch of the family.

Princess Augusta of Württemberg’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, and Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt, daughter of Margrave Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Schwedt and Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia.

She was tutored by her governess, the known memoirist Alexandrine des Écherolles, who described her pupils in her memoirs.

On April 15, 1820 in Stuttgart, Pauline Therese married her first cousin King Wilhelm I of Württemberg. Pauline thus became Queen conrsort of Württemberg. As his third wife, their marriage was unhappy, particularly because of the deep attachment King Wilhelm showed to his mistress, the actress Amalia Stubenrauch.

Princess Augusta of Württemberg was the third and last child of her parents’ marriage. She was described as unattractive, but cheerful and wise.

On June 17, 1851, she married Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Hermann was the third son of Prince Bernard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792-1862) from his marriage to Ida of Saxe-Meiningen (1794–1852), the daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Prince Hermann was a nephew of Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom.

Princess Augusta and Prince Hermann we’re the same age and he served in the Cavalry of Württemberg as an officer. Later that year, he was promoted from Rittmeister to lieutenant colonel. In 1853, he was promoted to commander of the guards regiment.

Weimar Palace at Neckarstraße 25 was, for many years, the center of an artistically oriented social life. In 1865, Hermann left the army with the rank of lieutenant general, because he was denied further promotions. He had tried to become King Charles’s adjutant general and imperial governor of Alsace-Lorraine but was unsuccessful. For lack of other activities, Prince Weimar, as he was called in Stuttgart, supported social, patriotic and artistic societies.

Princess Augusta of Württemberg, Princess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach died on December 3, 1898, aged 72.

Princess Augusta and Prince Hermann had six children:

1, Princess Pauline of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1852-1904)
married in 1873 to Hereditary Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1844-1894)

2. Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1853-1924)
married in 1885 to Princess Gerta of Isenburg-Büdingen-Wächtersbach (1863-1945)

3. Prince Bernhard Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1855-1907),
in 1900 to Marie Louise Brockmüller (1866-1903)
in 1905 to Countess Elisabeth von der Schulenburg (1869-1940)

4. Prince Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1857-1891)
5. Prince Ernest of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1859-1909)
6. Princess Olga of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1869-1924)
married in 1902 to Prince Leopold of Isenburg-Büdingen (1866-1933), eldest son of Charles, Prince of Isenburg-Büdingen.