Princess Augusta of Bavaria

Princess Augusta
Duchess of Leuchtenberg
Born (1788-06-21)21 June 1788
Strasbourg
Died 13 May 1851(1851-05-13) (aged 62)
Munich
Spouse
Eugène de Beauharnais
(m. 1806; d. 1824)
Issue Joséphine, Queen of Sweden and Norway
Eugénie, Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Auguste, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg
Amélie, Empress of Brazil
Théodoline, Countess Wilhelm of Württemberg
Princess Carolina
Maximilian, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg
Full name
German: Auguste Amalie Ludovika Georgia
French: Auguste Amélie Louise Georgie
House Wittelsbach
Father Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
Mother Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Coat of arms of Auguste Amélie de Bavière.

Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg (German: Auguste Amalie Ludovika Georgia von Bayern) (Strasbourg, 21 June 1788 – Munich, 13 May 1851) was the second child and eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. By marriage, she was a French Princess.

Early life

Princess Augusta with her brother and mother

Augusta-Amelie of Bavaria was the eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. She lost her mother in 1795 from lung problems and her father remarried two years later with the young Caroline of Baden, who imposed on her husband's court a seriousness that some thought was beneficial. At first, Augusta did not like her stepmother like her younger siblings Karl Theodore and Charlotte did, as she was still attached to her late mother, but Caroline and Augusta’s relationship improved over time.

In 1795, at the death of his elder brother, her father Maximilian became reigning duke of Zweibrücken but his States were occupied by the troops of the young First French Republic. In 1799, at the death of his distant cousin Charles Theodore, Maximilian became count-elector Palatine of the Rhine and Duke-Elector of Bavaria under the name of Maximilian III.

Marriage and issue

Although originally promised in marriage to the heir of Baden, Charles, the engagement was broken at the behest of Napoleon I of France. On 14 January 1806 in Munich, Augusta married Eugène de Beauharnais, only son of Josephine de Beauharnais and Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais and stepson of Napoleon. In return, Napoleon raised Bavaria from a state to a Kingdom. Although a diplomatic marriage, this union would turn out to be a happy one. In 1817, Augusta's father created his son-in-law Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstädt, with the style Royal Highness.

Augusta and Eugène had seven children:

Death

Augusta survived her husband by 20 years before dying in 1851 at the age of 63 in Munich. At that time, France’s president was the nephew of the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the son of Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland, the sister of Prince Eugène.

Titles and styles

  • 21 June 1788 - 1 January 1806: Her Serene Highness Duchess Augusta of Bavaria
  • 1 - 14 January 1806: Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta of Bavaria
  • 14 January 1806 - 20 December 1807: Her Imperial Highness French Princess Eugène de Beauharnais
  • 20 December 1807 - 26 October 1813: Her Imperial Highness The Princess of Venice
  • 26 October 1813 - December 1813: Her Imperial Highness The Grand Duchess of Frankfurt, Princess of Venice
  • December 1813 - 11 April 1814: Her Imperial Highness The Princess of Venice
  • 11 April 1814 - 14 November 1817: Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta, Madame de Beauharnais
  • 14 November 1817 -21 February 1824: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Princess of Eichstätt
  • 21 February 1824 - 13 May 1851: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Duchess of Leuchtenberg

Ancestry

Media related to Princess Augusta of Bavaria at Wikimedia Commons

Princess Augusta of Bavaria
Born: 21 June 1788 Died: 13 May 1851
German royalty
Preceded by
None		 Duchess of Leuchtenberg
1817–1824		 Succeeded by
Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

References

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