September 27, 1788: Death of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Duchess of Württemberg. Part II.

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amenorrhea, Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Württemberg, Duke of Württemberg, Elector of Württemberg, Emperor Napoleon of France, Empress Catherine II of Russia, Frederick of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire, King of Württemberg

A new life in Estonia and death

While the divorce conditions were being ironed out between Augusta, Friedrich, the Empress Catherine, Duke Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, during which time the Empress was on a long journey to the south, Augusta was sent to one of the Imperial estates, Lohde castle, in Lohde (now Koluvere) in Kullamaa Parish to the south-west of Tallinn, Estonia., for her own safety.

Because Friedrich insisted on having custody of all three children, Augusta refused to sign the divorce papers. Fearing retribution should she return to Brunswick, Augusta accepted Catherine’s suggestion to settle in Estonia. Augusta’s companions were a gentleman, Major-general Wilhelm von Pohlmann 1727 – 1796), and three ladies – Madame Wilde (replaced by Madame Bistram in 1788) and Pohlmann’s two daughters.

The sixty-year-old Pohlmann, who had retired to his estate near Lohde six years before, had enjoyed an illustrious career at the Russian Court; he was a close and trusted friend of the Empress, who had appointed him to the board of the prestigious Free Economic Society of Russia.

From Lodhe, Augusta kept up a regular correspondence with the Empress, who never ceased to care for her, and with her mother, to whom she expressed her satisfaction with the peaceful country life. The Empress sold Augusta’s house in St Petersburg on her behalf, advised her to invest the money wisely and allowed her to live off the income from the Lohde estate.

For a few years already, Augusta had been suffering from amenorrhea, for which her doctor had been treating her with potentially dangerous herbal potions, designed to stimulate menstruation. On the morning of September 27, 1788 (new style), at the age of 23, Augusta suddenly experienced violent vaginal bleeding, which continued for six-and-a-half hours, by which time she died.

Her doctor had been summoned but due to the long distance, he arrived too late. The Princess’s parents received a letter of condolences from the Empress, as well as Pohlmann’s report of her death and her doctor’s report. Many years later, her eldest son had the matter investigated and her body was exhumed. Although rumours were spread about her death from miscarriage they were disproven through the exhumation. It was found that she had neither been buried alive nor with the bones of a baby. Augusta’s story was fictionalized by Thackeray in The Luck of Barry Lyndon.

Augusta was buried under the floor of Kullamaa church. On her tombstone is the text: “Hic jacet in pace Augusta Carolina Friderica Luisa Ducis Brunsuicencis-Guelferbytani Filia Friderici Guilielmi Caroli Ducis Vurtembergensis et Supremi Praefecti Viburgiensis Uxor Nat. d. III. Dec. MDCCLXIV Denat. d. XIV. Sept. MDCCLXXXVIII” The date is false – it should have been XVI September. Over the years, her coffin decayed, causing her bones to get lost in the bottom of the deep crypt. Her tombstone is still in the church, albeit in a different position, surrounded by an iron rail.

The castle and lands of Koluvere were afterwards granted to Count Frederik Vilhelm Buxhoevden.

Friedrich of Württemberg’s father, Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg, helped his son make contact with the British royal family – Friedrich’s first wife Augusta, had been a niece of George III of the United Kingdom. On May 18, 1797, Friedrich married George III’s eldest daughter Charlotte, Princess Royal, at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace.

Friedrich succeeded his father as the reigning Duke of Württemberg on December 22, 1797. The new Duke Friedrich III had two sons and two daughters by his first marriage to the late Princess Augusta – The marriage between Duke Friedrich III and the Princess Royal produced one child: a stillborn daughter on April 27, 1798.

In 1803, Napoleon raised the Duchy of Württemberg to the Electorate of Württemberg, the highest form of a princedom in the Holy Roman Empire. Duke Friedrich III assumed the title Elector of Württemberg on February 25, 1803. In exchange for providing France with a large auxiliary force, Napoleon recognized Elector Friedrich as King of Württemberg on December 26, 1805. Then on January 1, 1806, Friedrich officially assumed the title of King of Württemberg. Later that year, the last Holy Roman Emperor, Franz II, abolished de facto the empire on August 6, 1806.

September 27, 1788: Death of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Duchess of Württemberg. Part I.

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Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Catherine II the Great of Russia, Frederick II the Great of Prussia, Frederick of Württemberg, George III of the United Kingdom

Duchess Augusta Caroline Friederika Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (December 3, 1764 – September 27, 1788) was the first wife of King Friedrich of Württemberg and the mother of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg.

Like her sister, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Augusta had a scandalous personal life and an unhappy marriage.Early life Princess Augusta was born in Brunswick, the eldest child of Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, the elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom. Augusta was a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain.

She was named in honour of her mother and grandmother. Augusta was the eldest of seven children, and her younger sister, Princess Caroline, would marry the future George IV of the United Kingdom.

Marriage

On October 15, 1780, at the age of 15, Augusta was married in Brunswick to the 6 foot 11 inch, 25 year old Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, eldest son of Duke Friedrich Eugene, himself the youngest brother of the reigning Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. As neither the reigning Duke nor the middle brother had any sons, Friedrich’s father (and then Friedrich himself) were expected to succeed in time as Duke of Württemberg.

That eventuality was however many years in the future, and the birth of a legitimate heir would end Friedrich’s hopes conclusively. Moreover, his uncle the Duke was not disposed to give any member of his family any role in affairs of government. Friedrich was in Prussian employ as Major-general. After the wedding, Augusta followed him to Lüben, a small town in Eastern Prussia, where his regiment was stationed.

At that time, the Empress of Russia, Catherine II, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, were forging a new alliance, which would be sealed by a marriage between Elisabeth of Württemberg (younger sister of both Friedrich and Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg), who was married to Tsesarevich Paul, future Emperor of Russia) and Archduke Franz, son of the Holy Roman Emperor’s brother and successor, Leopold II.

The King of Prussia, Friedrich II, was opposed to this alliance, which he accused Friedrich of supporting. Accordingly, the relations between Friedrich of Württemberg and King Friedrich II of Prussia soured to the point that Friedrich saw himself forced to leave Prussia. Prince Friedrich resigned in December 1781, sent Augusta and their baby son Wilhelm back to Brunswick and joined his sister Maria Feodorovna and her husband on the Italian leg of their extended tour through Europe.

While in Naples, in February 1782, Friedrich received an invitation from the Russian Empress to move to St Petersburg as Lieutenant-general in her army and Governor-General of Eastern Finland, with his seat at Viipuri. After spending the summer with Augusta in Montbéliard, his parents’ home, they finally arrived in St Petersburg in October 1782, where the Empress had renovated and lavishly furnished a mansion for them.

Separation

It was no secret that the marriage between Augusta and Friedrich was an unhappy union of two mismatched personalities. Already in the first year of marriage, there was talk of a divorce but Augusta’s father absolutely refused, threatening his daughter with social ostracization should she leave her husband. After secret investigations, Empress Catgerine II discovered that Prince Friedrich, whom she would call a ‘ferocious rogue’, was to blame for the discord.

The Russian Empress took it upon herself to protect Augusta, whose conduct she found ‘perfectly blameless’, from her husband’s violent nature. Over the next three years, three more children were born, of which the second daughter, Dorothée, would die at nine months. The relationship between Augusta and her abusive husband deteriorated to the point where Catherine wrote an urgent letter to Duke Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick that his daughter’s life was in danger.

When the Duke was hesitant to take action, Catherine urged Augusta to leave her husband and arranged for a police carriage to be on standby at all times. Eventually, on December 28, 1786 (new style), Augusta fled to the Hermitage, where Catherine gave her asylum and ordered Friedrich to leave Russia. When Maria Feodorovna protested at this treatment of her brother, Catherine replied curtly, ‘It is not I who covers the Prince of Württemberg with shame; instead, I try to cover up his appalling behaviour. It is my duty to suppress such things.’ It became known that shortly before Augusta fled, Frederick had plotted (unsuccessfully) to have his wife raped in order to have her reputation dishonoured.