- Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau
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Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau Princess Frederick Charles of Prussia Spouse Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia Issue Marie, Princess Henry of the Netherlands
Elisabeth Anna, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Oldenburg
Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Friedrich Leopold of PrussiaFull name Maria Anna House House of Ascania Father Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt Mother Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia Born 14 September 1837
DessauDied 12 May 1906 (aged 68)
FriedrichrodaPrincess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau (14 September 1837, Dessau – 12 May 1906, Friedrichroda) was a princess from the House of Ascania. She was the third child of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt and Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia.
Contents
Family
Maria Anna's paternal grandparents were Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Louis Charles of Prussia (brother of King Frederick William III of Prussia) and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Maria Anna was a younger sister of Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt and Agnes, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg.
Marriage and issue
On 29 November 1854 she married her second cousin Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. He was a grandson of Frederick William III of Prussia by his father Prince Charles of Prussia. They had four children:
Name Birth Death Notes Princess Marie Elisabeth Luise Friederike of Prussia 1855 1888 married twice (1) Prince Henry of the Netherlands; (2) Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia 1857 1895 married Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg Princess Anna Victoria Charlotte Augusta Adelheid of Prussia 1858 1858 Princess Luise Margarete Alexandra Victoria Agnes of Prussia 1860 1917 married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Joachim Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold of Prussia 1865 1931 married Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Their marriage was unhappy. After the birth of their fourth daughter, Prince Frederick Charles reportedly boxed his wife's ears for not producing a son. According to one source, it was only by the entreaties of Emperor Wilhelm I that a separation never occurred.[1]
Maria Anna was considered by contemporaries to be one of the loveliest women of her generation.[2] She possessed a remarkable talent for music and painting, and often advised young girls when they first entered society. Maria Anna was almost completely deaf, which according to her friend Princess Catherine Radziwill, "caused her to show extreme timidity and embarrassment whenever she found herself in company".[3] Radziwill went on to say however that "when [Maria Anna] was alone with you, and not disturbed by the noise of many conversations around her, she became quite charming, and really witty".[3]
Later life
Her husband Prince Frederick Charles died on 15 June 1885. After his death, Maria Anna left Berlin for Italy, staying mainly in Naples, Rome, and Florence.[4] Rumors soon emerged that Maria Anna contracted a morganatic marriage to Capt. von Wagenheim, one of her equerries.[1]
In 1889, their only son Prince Frederick married Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, a sister of Empress Augusta Viktoria. Maria Anna died on 12 May 1906 in Friedrichroda.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau 16. Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 8. Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau 17. Gisela Agnes of Anhalt-Köthen 4. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 18. Henry Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt 9. Margravine Louise Henriette of Brandenburg-Schwedt 19. Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau 2. Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt 20. Frederick IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg 10. Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg 21. Countess Ulrike Luise of Solms-Braunfels 5. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg 22. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt 11. Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt 23. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken 1. Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau 24. Prince Augustus William of Prussia 12. Frederick William II of Prussia 25. Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg 6. Prince Louis Charles of Prussia 26. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt = 22 13. Margravine Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt 27. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken = 23 3. Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia 28. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow 14. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg 29. Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen 7. Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 30. Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt 15. Landgravine Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt 31. Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg References
- ^ a b "Frederick Charles's Widow", The New York Times (London), 23 May 1886, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E3DD1738E533A25750C2A9639C94679FD7CF&scp=1&sq=princess+frederick+charles+of+prussia&st=p
- ^ Radziwill, pp. 102-03.
- ^ a b Radziwill, p. 103.
- ^ "Frederick Charles' Only Son", The New York Times (London), 14 September 1885, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9402E5DA153FE533A25757C1A96F9C94649FD7CF&scp=21&sq=princess+frederick+charles+of+prussia&st=p
Sources
Primary
- Radziwill, Catherine (1915). Memories of Forty Years. London: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
Prussian princesses by marriage The generations indicate marriage to Frederick I, the first King of Prussia, and his descendents.1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel • Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel • Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Kassel • Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt4th generation Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg • Landgravine Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt5th generation Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz • Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz • Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg6th generation Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria • Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach • Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach • Princess Marianne of the Netherlands • Princess Luise of Anhalt-Bernburg7th generation 8th generation Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein • Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz • Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine • Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg • Princess Agatha of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst9th generation Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin • Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg • Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen • Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg • Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz • Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt • Princess Calixta of Lippe-Biesterfeld • Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg10th generation Dorothea von Salviati • Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia • Baroness Maria von Humboldt-Dachroeden • Princess Magdalena Reuss of Köstritz • Lady Brigid Katherine Rachel Guinness • Countess Marie Antoinette von Hoyos • Armgard Weygand • Irmgard Else von Veltheim • Princess Henriette of Schönaich-Carolath • Luise Dora Hartmann • Doña Eva Maria Herrera y Valdeavellano • Maritza Farkas11th generation Waltraud Freytag • Ehrengard von Reden • Sibylle Kretschmer • Jutta Jorn • Brigitte von Dallwitz • Countess Donata Emma of Castell-Rüdenhausen • Countess Nina Helene Lydia Alexandra von Reventlow • Hon. Victoria Lucinda Mancroft • Alexandra Blahová • Ziba Rastegar-Javaheri • Eva Maria Kuduicke • Heide Schmidt • Hannelore Maria Kerscher • Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia12th generation Anna Christine Soltau • Princess Sophie of IsenburgCategories:- 1837 births
- 1906 deaths
- People from Dessau-Roßlau
- House of Ascania
- House of Hohenzollern
- Prussian princesses
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