"Same beautiful soul"

Portrait of the Grand Duchess Ella 

by Friedrich August von Kaulbach.

Colorized by me. :-)

German portraitist Friedrich August von Kaulbach painted several portraits of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth throughout the late 19th century when she was apparently at the height of her beauty. Her brother Ernst-Ludwig particularly likes Ella's portraits by Kaulbach for they capture some of that elusive charm that most artists failed to convey on her other portraits. In this portrait, Ella's elegant, supple and graceful figure were apparent, as well as her beautiful Greek profile and that faraway look in her eyes. At the same time, she projects an aura of exquisite delicacy, simplicity and nobility. The Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who was in awe of the newly-married Ella, describe her in his diary: "She is so feminine; I am struck by her beauty. Her eyes wonderfully delineate calm and gentleness. In her, despite her gentleness and shyness, there is a certain feeling of self-confidence, a sense of power. Under such a beautiful appearance must be the same beautiful soul." 

The Daughters of Prince Ivan Baryatinsky

Prince Ivan Baryatinsky was one of the most influential nobles in Russia of the early 19th century. He was a wealthy landowner and the owner of several palaces throughout Russia and Europe. As the sole heir of his father, Prince Ivan inherited the vast fortune of his family. He first served in the Yekaterinoslav Hussars of the Russian Imperial Army as a young man, and he later distinguished himself as an astute diplomat and was made Russian ambassador first in London and then at the court of the King of Bavaria in Munich. While he was on a diplomatic service in London, he met and married an Englishwoman named Frances Mary Dutton, the daughter of Lord Sherborne. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, but Frances Mary died in 1807. Later that year, Prince Ivan was sent to Bavaria as the Russian ambassador and there he met and married a German countess, Maria Keller, with whom he had four sons and three daughters. It was a match made in heaven. Prince Ivan and the now Maria Feodorovna were a good-looking and generous couple, and enjoyed a successful marriage. Prince Ivan was especially interested in agronomics and applied the things he learned from his travels all over Europe in the development and management of his estates. Princess Maria Feodorovna, on the other hand, was a philanthropist. She was particularly involved in charity and other social causes. After their marriage, Prince Ivan built a magnificent palace complex in Kursk which he named "Marino" in honor of his first and second wives. In here, his children grew up and received an excellent education with special emphasis on Christian values. Thus, the Baryatinsky children will grow up to closely follow their parents' examples in philanthropy and social astuteness.

Princess Olga Ivanovna Baryatinsky,
Countess Orlova-Davydova 

Olga, born in 1814, was the eldest daughter of Prince Ivan and Maria Feodorovna Keller. She married Count Vladimir Petrovich Orlov-Davydov in 1832. Count Davydov was a scion of one of the most powerful noble families in Russia. He was a wealthy landowner and a philanthropist. He was educated in Britain and as a result, he acquired a great love for Britain and its culture. Olga and Davydov primarily lived in Orel and there Olga took interest in the welfare of the people. She was described to have possessed a wonderful character. Her simplicity and unassuming ways particularly in the way she treats peasants amazed courtiers and dignitaries. Like her mother, Olga had a developed social conscience. She and Davydov made it a point that charity must be a foremost importance in their life. They built schools, churches, hospitals and charitable institutions. The writer Aksarov who had the opportunity to see the couple's charitable work was surprised with their attitude towards ordinary people. He wrote that they "lead a living union with the Church, and not less than a living union with the Russian people", and that the "Russian village became a part of Olga's moral being". She was well-acquainted with peasant life and with the needs of the people both in general and in detailed. After her mother's death, Olga inherited the guardianship of the Community of the Sisters of Charity, which her mother founded. 

Princess Leonilla Ivanovna Baryatinsky, 

Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

Born in 1816, Leonilla was the second daughter. The princess, like her brothers and sisters, was highly educated and cultured. When she was 16 years old, her mother brought her to St. Petersburg to be introduced to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She immediately became famous at the court for her attractive looks. She was described to be tall like a 'Lebanese cedar, slender, somewhat restrained and very serious, but beautiful from head to toe'. Her 'velvet eyes and sable eyebrows' gave her an 'Italian look'. In the spring of 1834, she became a maid-of-honor to the Empress. However, less than year after her appointment, the beautiful and cultured Leonilla married the Tsar's aide-de-camp, Prince Ludwig of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, who was also a widower. After their marriage, Leonilla and her husband left Russia and settled in their estate in Vilna, Lithuania. Prince Wittgenstein inherited a vast fortune from his first wife, which afforded him and Leonilla to lead a luxurious lifestyle. Following her mother's example, Leonilla was also interested in charity and founded several schools and hospitals for the poor. Although their marriage started happily, Leonilla and her husband soon drifted away from each other. She converted to Catholicism and fell into a sort of religious mania. She had an affair with a Frenchman while her husband settled in the wing of the castle with his German mistress. Before the the Prince's death in 1866, he and Leonilla were somewhat reconciled. "Thus ended", wrote the writer Smirnov, "this married life that started with feigned love, passed on for a short time in indifference, and then in friendship..." As a widower, she became a close friend of the Empress Augusta of Germany and tried to help her resolve a number of diplomatic issues to prevent the Franco-Prussian War. In the last 30 years of her life, Princess Leonilla lived in a villa at Ouchy, overlooking Lake Geneva. For many years, her homes has been a "bourne of crowned heads and imperial personages". One of her oldest friends is the Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 94, who, until the outbreak of the war, would visit once a year. Until the last days of her long life, Leonilla, kept an excellent memory and a sober mind. She died in 1918 at the age of 102.

Princess Maria Ivanovna Baryatisnky,

Princess Kochubey

The youngest daughter of the family, Maria, was born in 1818 . Like her mother and her sisters, she was also a famous beauty at the Russian court. She also became a maid-of-honor to the Empress Alexandra and a close friend of the Empress's daughter, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna. The Grand Duchess fondly remembers Maria in her memoirs:

"After the start of the Lent was the end of all celebrations. Only a few were invited to gather in the evening with Mama in the Green Room, where for the most part we read aloud. Among these guests were Princess Baryatinsky and her daughter Maria. Her shyness and modesty endeared her to me and soon we became friends. She was serious and deeply religious. The friendship between us was truly what I've always dreamed of: she ennobled our nature. We both were full of ideals according to our age... We are especially protective of our desires, thoughts and ideas from prying eyes. Maria Baryatinsky was blond with black eyebrows, her eyes if she sympathized with anyone, were full of warmth, which I have not seen in anybody, except for the Empress Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Emperor Alexander II), perhaps because I truly loved them both.

Maria Baryatinsky's hair was the same as mine. When she unravels her hair, it covered her knees. She plaits it into a twine three times around the head and fastened it with gold pin. I remember one birthday celebration of Papa in Peterhof. Despite the fact that Baryatinsky lived nine miles from there, she came with fresh flowers on her hair. Most of the flowers were still in bud, and during a dance, they were dispersed. The portrait by the famous artist Robertson captured her in all her charms while she was about to play the piano. In 1841, she married Mikhail Kochubey, and eighteen months later she is gone. She died of a fever... How short this friendship was! But this remains an indelible trace in my soul. Her sister Leonilla, the future Princess Wittgenstein. was also very attractive, but her beauty was of the earth, while Maria was like an angel. In Maria, I found an echo of myself, and this four-year friendship was just beautiful. "

After Maria's early death, her mother founded a shelter for poor women as a dedication to her.

Portraits of Prince Ivan Baryatinsky and Princess Maria Feodorovna nee Keller

The Hesse Sisters

Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine, adored his four sisters Victoria, Elizabeth, Irene and Alix. They were known in royal circles as "The Four Graces" because they were famous for their beauty. The sisters were of different personalities and temperaments but they all share a deep love and bond with each other. Here is an excerpt from Ernst Ludwig's memoirs and his descriptions about them:

The Hessian princesses: Victoria, Elisabeth (Ella), Irene, and Alix.

"Victoria...was often misunderstood. She easily reacts with sharpness, which made her give scathing answers. Ella was one of the most beautiful women, because her figure was perfect in everything . She had a warm voice; had a special fondness for painting and drawing. Yet she delighted in dressing up, but not out of vanity, but out of joy to create beauty. With a great sense of humor, she could comically tell about the things that happened to her. Irene, from our father in particular, has inherited the absolute goodness of his heart, from our grandmother - her shyness. As child, she was the one who settles disputes between sisters; she was constantly worried that we should do the right thing... Being a sanguine person, she often did not exercise measures, so we called her 'Aunt Fuss'. She rode superbly and, like me, was addicted to dancing. We often sing a melody while dancing in pairs in an empty room... Alicky was already a beautiful child with a serious face. Humor was not in her. Like all my sisters, she had a generous heart and a limitless sense of duty. After the death of May, she became the youngest and felt hurt that she refused to say anything. She was a good companion to our father and did everything possible to cheer his spirit. Since she was easily embarrassed...and laughed only when she was in the mood, it was often thought that she was gloomy, bored or unhappy..."

Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife

Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, 1901
(From the Royal Collection)

The eldest daughter of Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and his Danish born wife, Alexandra, Princess Louise was born on February 20, 1867 in Marlborough House, the London home of her parents. She spent much of her childhood in Sandringham House, her parents' country retreat in Norfolk, and lived a rather sheltered life with her sisters. The Princess of Wales was a possessive mother who would rather let her daughters remained unmarried than marry them off to German princes, and as a result, Louise and her sisters Victoria and Maud, collectively known to their relatives as the "Wales girls" grew up to be intensely shy and reserved.

Royal Portrait: The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

(Portrait from the Royal Collection)

The newly-married Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna wrote to her grandmother, Queen Victoria on June 13, 1884, about her portrait by Russian painter Alexander Sokolov.

"He began to do my portrait, and I think he will be very successful. Sergei and I hope that you will enjoy it, and we'll send it to you as a present for Christmas and birthday. You may be interested to know what I wear - a dress of pale pink gauze, a lot of lace, a little open - so you can see the neck and the sleeves are not very long. I hold an open umbrella on one hand and on the other - a large white straw hat with flowers, tied with a pink ribbon. It looks as if I was walking in the garden... " 

First Anniversary of the Death of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaievna

Grand Duchesses Olga and Alexandra Nikolaievna by Christina Robertson (Hermitage Museum)

In the excerpt below, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna, Queen of Wurttemberg, remembers the first death anniversary of her beloved sister, Alexandra. The 19-year-old Grand Duchess Alexandra, who was suffering from consumption, died after prematurely giving birth to her son. The baby died as well soon afterwards, and this tragedy profoundly affected the imperial family.

"By the day of the death of Adini, Fritz of Hesse came. We went with him to Tsarskoye Selo, where in a small chapel at the pond was placed a statue of Adini. In the pavilion, which was built for her, waiting to be fed, are black swans. But at the top of the palace there was no longer a balcony in front of her bathroom and the lilac under her windows with their flowering branches reach the window. In the palace chapel a requiem was held. All these memories of last year came bursting in my heart: she was lying with her baby in a sea of colors and it seemed to me that with my beloved sister, I also buried my youth. Then we went to the Fortress [of Peter and Paul] and on that same night we went back to Yelagin [Palace]. When I think about my last summer in my homeland, I am seized with an inexpressible longing for all those who have gone before me to another life.

"Poor Aunt Julia"

Portrait of the Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia,
from the Royal Collection.

The Grand Duchess Anna was born as Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was an aunt of Queen Victoria. She married Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia, second son of Tsar Paul I, when she was only 15 years old. The marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce. Anna later settled in Switzerland and died there in 1860.

In 1841, her niece, Princess Feodora went to Geneva, and later reported to her half-sister, Queen Victoria about her meeting with their Aunt Julia: "I went to see Mama and Aunt Julia, who I find very much changed, she looks now an old woman, such a pity, for she was so lovely once. ...Her life full of trials of all kind, her youth thrown away at that court, and now alone, amongst strangers here is indeed a bitter cup to the last... poor aunt, life must be a burthen to her; and her feelings are so young still." 

(Quotes from the Royal Collection.)

Royal Portrait: The Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

The future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, consort
of Nicholas I, portrayed here when she was still a grand duchess.
By Henri Benner, 1821 (From the Hermitage Museum)

"On St. Peter's day the imperial family met at the chateau. It was there that I saw the Grand Duchess Nicholas for the first time, and I was struck by the elegance of her form and the beauty of her tall figure. Surrounded by her ladies in waiting, whom she surpassed by a head, you would have said it was Calypso in the midst of her nymphs."

 --From the memoirs of Madame la Comtesse de Choiseul-Gouffier

Royal Portrait: Portrait of Queen Anna of the Netherlands

Portrait of Queen Anna of the Netherlands,

born Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia by Timoteo Neff.

From the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Yeketerinburg

(Image from ei.ru)

The Grand Duchess Anna was certainly a force to be reckoned with. She was a lover of pomp and ceremony, never forgetting for a moment that she was a Russian grand duchess before she became queen. In this portrait, a middle-aged Anna was a wearing a Russian court dress adorned with rubies and diamonds and a kokoshnik embellished with pearls, rubies and diamonds.

The Romance of an Empress

The Romanov Family was infamous for its story of drama and tragedy. It was this aspect that probably fascinates people the most. Each member of the family, whether they were born into it or married into it, seems to have his or her own unique story to tell. And so for today, I'd like to explore one of the least known member, Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, wife of Alexander I.

Emperor Alexander I's life was a mystery and continues to be so. His upbringing, his role in his father's death, his domestic and foreign policies, his personality, and the circumstances of his death are all shrouded in enigma. His wife Elizabeth and her life also has its own fair share of drama, tragedy, romance, and mystery. When I was reading about Elizabeth's life, it was like watching a soap-opera and a legend rolled into one. I could not help but be fascinated with this lady, although largely unknown to most history buff, was still quite a personality. She was adored by poets and musicians, and contemporaries and later historians and authors are drawn to her; and it's quite understandable why. Elizabeth was an attractive woman. Her beauty was often described as the angelic kind and this gave her an almost unearthly and ethereal appearance. She was both beautiful and intelligent but sad and inaccessible. She was the perfect muse for an uninspired artist, the perfect heroine of a doomed love story, and the perfect angel to a lost man.

An Ambassador's Recollection

The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

"I remember dining with her in Paris…in about 1891. I can still see her as she was then: tall, stern, with shining blue, naive eyes, her tender mouth, the soft features of her face and her straight slender nose…the charming rhythm of her carriage and movements. In her conversation one intuited a marvelous feminine mind-natural, serious, and full of hidden goodness." - Maurice Paleologue, French ambassador at the Russian court

The Grand Duchess and Her Palace

The Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna, eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, was a gifted artist. Her artistic and aesthetic inclinations led her to do numerous paintings in watercolor and she delightfully engaged in interior decoration; she decorated her own rooms and when she received a palace of her own, the Mariinsky Palace in St. Petersburg, as a wedding present, she transformed it into one of the most imposing in the city. As a lover of the arts, Grand Duchess Maria built a beautiful collection of paintings from Russia and from different parts of  Europe. A lady-in-waiting recalled the time when she went to the Mariinsky palace for the first time and she was struck by the splendid interiors and the grand duchess's taste for beauty and the arts.

"... I went to the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna... I found her in her luxurious winter garden, surrounded by exotic plants, fountains, waterfalls and birds; a mirage of spring in a January frost. The palace of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaeivna was truly a magical castle, thanks to the generosity of the Emperor Nicholas to his beloved daughter, and the taste of the grand duchess, who managed to subdue the wealth and luxury which she was surrounded, shows the diversity of her artistic imagination. She was generously endowed by nature, which is coupled by a striking beauty of her subtle mind, friendly nature and excellent heart, but she lacked the lofty ideals of spiritual and intellectual interests... "

-From the recollection of Anna Feodorovna Tyutchev, 

lady-in-waiting at the Russian court

The Daughters of Emperor Paul I of Russia

The daughters of Emperor Paul I: (From left to right:)
Alexandra, Elena, Maria, Catherine and Anna 

Emperor Paul I of Russia and his second wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, née Princess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, had six daughters: Alexandra, Elena, Maria, Catherine, Olga, and Anna. All of the grand duchesses, with the exemption of Olga who died when she was only two years old, married into the royal houses of Europe. Shy and gentle Alexandra married the Archduke Joseph of Austria and lived in Hungary; sensitive and altruistic Elena became a Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when she married Friedrich-Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; intelligent and artistic Maria married Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and presided over the cultural development of Weimar; vivacious and strong-willed Catherine was first married to Prince George of Oldenburg and after his death she married the future King William I of Württemberg; and the youngest and sombre Anna became a Dutch queen when she married King William II of the Netherlands.

Emperor Paul, beyond his purported eccentricities and cruelty, was a doting and devoted father to his children, while the Empress Maria was a woman of strong character who was determined to maintain unity and order within her large family. The grand duchesses thus grew up in an idyllic atmosphere of happy family life. They were educated to a high standard, and were taught the necessary skills for their future roles as consorts. Duty has always comes first before one's self. But behind the glittering palace rooms and dazzling court life where these grand duchesses spent their childhood, their lives would never be easy. As they faced a future of uncertainty, it was but their only desire to be of good use to their adoptive countries that made them strive, above all else, to be dedicated consorts and overcome their ever-present longing for their beloved Russia.

"A world of our own..."

Louis IV and Princess Alice, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse

"If I say I love my dear husband, that is scarcely enough - it is a love and esteem which increase daily, hourly; which he also shows to me by such consideration, such tender loving ways. What was life before to what it has become now? There is such blessed peace being at his side, being his wife, there is such a feeling of security; and we two have a world of our own when we are together, which nothing can touch or intrude upon. My lot is indeed a blessed one; and yet what I have done to deserve that warm and ardent love which my darling Louis ever shows me? I admire his good and noble heart more than I can say."

-Princess Alice's letter to her mother Queen Victoria, 1862.

"Dagmar"

"The bride conquered everyone. Dagmar regarded life with radiant eyes, and her simplicity and charm boded will for family life, although Sheremetyev wrote the truth: Not everyone in court accepted this hasty switch from the dead brother to the live one. They did not understand that her small and graceful body belonged not to Niks or Sasha but had been intended from birth for the heir of the throne. That is why her mother bore her... From the day their engagement was announced, petite Dagmar was in charge of enormous Sasha. Once they were married, he never left her side. When she went to visit Denmark, he sat lost in her rooms, like a big hound that had lost its master." 

(Edvard Radzinsky, Alexander II: The last Great Tsar)

A Rare Vision

Portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaievna of Russia (1825-1844) From the Hermitage Museum

"Her lineaments seemed suddenly to recall forcibly her mother and also her grandmother, Queen Louisa [of Prussia]. Among the retinue of the Empress were still persons who retained a lively recollection of Queen Louise, and who were struck by the likeness. [She] showed indescribable grace in all her movements, especially in dancing, so that her parents liked to look at her; even in her mode of walking in the street, where she appeared in all her simplicity and quite unknown, she struck every passer-by as a rare vision. From her features beamed even more than the wonted courtesy of a princess, or the easy cheerfulness of a girl; beyond all others, she was distinguished by elevation of thought, and goodness. Her slightest smile lighted up her whole face, her glance was full of intellect and heart, and on her lofty brow was written true dignity. Many beauties cause astonishment, but permit the spectator no nearer approach; the youthful Alexandra delighted by her first few words, for they came from the warmest depths of her heart. Neither pride nor cold reserve, but intellectual life and spirit, animated her whole being."

- Theodore Grimm, Alexandra Feodorowna, Empress of Russia 

The Queen and the Empress

Queen Louise of Prussia and Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia

In 1809, Tsar Alexander I and the Empress Elizabeth welcomed King Frederick William III of Prussia and Queen Louise in St. Petersburg. The lovely and vivacious Prussian queen managed to charm the whole court, even the Empress Elizabeth herself. The sight of these two beautiful women together caused quite a sensation at the Russian court. Apparently, Louise and Elizabeth instantly "clicked" and they were to become very good friends. Observers were quick to notice the physical resemblance between the two and Joseph de Maistre, Sardinian ambassador to Russia wrote in his memoirs:

"[Queen Louise] has often been compared to the reigning Empress [Elizabeth]. The Queen may be a beautiful woman, but the Empress is a more beautiful sovereign."

After the Prussian couple's departure, Queen Louise and Empress Elizabeth continued writing to each other. Louise wrote to Elizabeth about her and her husband's return to Berlin:

"Our entry was a very touching experience. The people received us with the utmost joy. We could feel that they welcomed us with all their hearts. The King has never been more popular. We see only friendly faces everywhere. God be thanked that we are again in Berlin. Whatever we may still have to endure will be more easily endured here."

Elizabeth was very fond of the Prussian queen. She confided to her mother her thoughts about Louise:

"There is no need for me to measure my words and exercise prudence in speaking of the Queen of Prussia. It is impossible for anyone to be more delightful, more easy to get on with than she is. I cannot think how those reports about her affectation and coquetry originated. I have never seen a trace of any such thing. She was extremely sociable, and one could note the liveliness of her natural disposition. Her relations with the King were quite a pleasure to me. In society she was sure of her position and quite at her ease. Alone with me she was genuinely friendly and confidential. If there is any shade in her portrait I assure you it is barely perceptible."

Isabella of Angouleme, Queen of England

A Victorian artist's engraving of Isabella.

My first post for this month is about an English queen from the Middle Ages: Isabella of Angouleme. Isabella was one of England's least popular queens consort. This was partly attributed to her husband's bad reputation and partly for her own indiscreet and troublesome ways. Her turbulent life perfectly mirrors the struggles between England and France during the 13th century.

She was described to be a stunningly beautiful woman and possessed the Middle Ages' ideal of beauty: blonde hair and blue eyes. She was called "The Fair Maid of Angouleme" and the "Helen of the Middle Ages". Despite her lovely face, Isabella was not a well-liked Queen during and even after her lifetime; she was described to be vain and capricious, and her marriage to the even more unpopular and disliked King John added more fuel to the people's growing hatred and dissatisfaction on his rule.

"Goodness was her fall"

Lady Jane Grey was one of the most learned women of her day. She was fluent in eight languages, among these are Latin, Hebrew and Greek. She was a very committed Protestant and her faith was her source of strength throughout her short and tumultuous life. Below is a poem about her by English writer William Hone (1780-1842) which was inscribed beneath a portrait of her. More about this fascinating lady in a future post. :-)

Young, beautiful and learned Jane, intent
On knowledge, fount it peace; her vast acquirement
Of goodness was her fall; she was content
With dulcet pleasures, such as calm retirement
Yields to the wise alone; — her only vice
Was virtue: in obedience to her sire
And lord she died, with them a sacrifice
To their ambition: her own mild desire
Was rather to be happy than be great;
For though at their request, she claimed the crown,
That they through her might rise to rule the state,
Yet the bright diadem and gorgeous throne
She viewed as cares, dimming the dignity
Of her unsullied mind and pur benignity.

The First Bavarian Queen: Princess Caroline of Baden

Princess Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria

by Johann Christian von Mannlich, 1817.

Princess Caroline of Baden was born on July 13, 1776 in Karlsruhe. She and her twin sister Amalie were the oldest daughters of Hereditary Grand Duke Charles Louis of Baden and Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Caroline had one surviving brother, Charles, and four younger sisters: Louise, Frederica, Marie, and Wilhelmine. All the children of Charles Louis made grand marriages to the different royal houses of Europe and this success was largely attributed to his wife's wise political judgment and strength of character. Amalie was certainly a force to be reckoned with; she made sure that all of her children were highly educated and prepared for their future roles, but at the same time, she was also a caring and devoted mother who fostered a warm and close relationship among her children.

Caroline grew up in a warm and close-knit family. She was very close to her sisters and they would always call and refer to their mother as "my dear beloved Mama". Caroline inherited her mother's love for the arts and talent for painting, but she also developed a strong dislike for anything French. And this was further reinforced by her personal dislike for Napoleon Bonaparte, who was said to be involved with the murder of the Duke of Enghien.

As a teenager, Caroline was considered to be a potential wife for Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, a relative of the Bourbon monarchs of France. She was said to be very much in love with him, but before any marriage negotiation began, Caroline's family dropped the matter for fear of French opposition.

In 1796, Caroline met Maximilian, Duke of Zweibrucken, in Ansbach, while both their families were on the run from the advancing French army. Maximilian was a 40-year-old widower with four children, and he fell in love with the 21-year-old Caroline. At first, Caroline hesitated, but due to her mother's cajoling and her budding feelings for Maximilian, who was said to be "kind and simple", made her accept him. They married in Karlsruhe on March 9, 1797 and the family settled in Mannheim.

As a young stepmother, Caroline got on quite well with her stepchildren, Augusta (aged 8), Caroline (age 4) and Karl Theodore (age 2). The children lost their mother just over a year ago and Caroline provided all the maternal love and affection they need. Despite her determination to build a strong relationship with them, she had a great difficulty getting along with her eldest stepson, Ludwig, who couldn't completely accept his stepmother. She would have a lifelong strained relationship with him.

Maximilian became Elector of Bavaria in 1799 and he, Caroline and the children moved to Munich in the spring of 1799. That September, Caroline gave birth to a stillborn son and was followed by another son a year later. She would give birth to six daughters: the first set of twins Elisabeth and Amalie, followed by another twins Sophie and Maria Anna, and then daughters Ludovika, and Maximiliana. She and Maximilian's marriage was considered to be happy and harmonious and Caroline was a supportive wife to her husband. She was also a devoted and loving mother to her children and stepchildren; she carefully supervised their education and upbringing and raised them with a deep sense of duty.

Maximilian maintained a close relationship with France and its emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, and because of this support, Bavaria was elevated into a kingdom by the Treaty of Pressburg, thus Caroline and Maximilian became the first King and Queen of Bavaria. Caroline had a strong sense of duty and relished in her role as Queen. She was a clever and able consort and she used her position and influence for the welfare of the people. As a lover of the arts, she helped her husband in transforming Munich into a cultural center.

When her beloved stepdaughter Augusta was eyed by Napoleon as wife for his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, Caroline was against the match. She disliked Napoleon, and sensing this, the French emperor went out his way to gain her favor. He and Josephine showered many presents to Caroline and Augusta, but when Caroline realized that Augusta and Eugene were in love, she finally gave her blessing to the couple.

An older Queen Caroline.

Caroline was allowed to remain a Protestant even after she married Maximilian and had her own pastor. Since the Bavarian court was predominantly Catholic, a new wave of religious tolerance was established in Bavaria and this led to an increased influx of Protestant traders and dealers in the country. This, and the many charitable institution established by the Queen made Caroline popular and well-loved by the people.

King Maximilian died in 1825. Before he died, he made his eldest son and successor, Ludwig I, to promise to take care of his stepmother and siblings. As a youth, Ludwig had an uneasy relationship with Caroline and when he became King, he tried to send her away from Munich. She resisted but decided to stay in Tegernsee Castle, a country seat built by Maximilian for her. Caroline died in 1841, 16 years after her husband. Due to her Protestant faith, her funeral was conducted with little dignity as befitted a Queen. The Protestant clergy were not allowed to enter the church, so the funeral service was given outside. Meanwhile, the attending Catholic clergy wore ordinary clothes rather than their religious vestments. When the funeral procession was dissipated, the coffin was placed in the tomb without any ceremony. This undignified treatment of her stepmother by the Catholic clergy greatly angered Ludwig I. His strong pro-Catholic views were changed forever and his attitude towards Protestant softened permanently.


Read about Queen Caroline's daughters here:
The Daughters of King Maximilian I
Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia

Read about Queen Caroline's two sisters here:
Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia
Queen Frederica of Sweden