Caroline of Baden

Electress consort of Bavaria, first Queen consort of Bavaria

Caroline of Baden

Electress consort of Bavaria
Tenure| 16 February 1799 – 1 January 1806
Queen consort of Bavaria
Tenure| 1 January 1806 – 13 October 1825

Born| (1776-07-13)13 July 1776
Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden
Died| 13 November 1841(1841-11-13) (aged 65)
Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
Burial|

Theatine Church

Spouse|

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

(m. 1797; died 1825)​

Issue|

* Elizabeth Ludovika, Queen of Prussia
* Amalie Auguste, Queen of Saxony
* Maria Anna, Queen of Saxony
* Sophie, Archduchess of Austria
* Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria
* Princess Maximiliana

| Names

Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine
House| Zähringen
Father| Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden
Mother| Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Religion| Lutheran

Caroline of Baden (German: Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine von Baden; 13 July 1776 – 13 November 1841) was by marriage an Electress of Bavaria and later the first Queen consort of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.

## Life[edit]

### Early life[edit]

She was the eldest child of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden, and his wife Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was born 13 July 1776, twin sister of Katharina Amalie Christiane Luise.

Caroline was considered as a bride for Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, but the fear of attracting opposition from France made her family hesitate.

### Marriage[edit]

On 9 March 1797, in Karlsruhe, she became the second spouse of Maximilian, Duke of Palatine Zweibrücken, who two years later would inherit the Electorate of Bavaria. As a result of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the rank of Elector became obsolete, and the ruler of Bavaria was promoted to the rank of King. As a result, Caroline became Queen of Bavaria. Caroline had seven children with her husband, including two pairs of twins, an interesting occurrence considering Caroline was also a twin herself.

She was allowed to keep her Protestant religion and had her own Protestant pastor, which was unique for a Bavarian queen. She was described as a very dignified consort and hostess of the Bavarian court and raised her daughters to have a strong sense of duty.

### Death and funeral[edit]

Caroline of Baden died 13 November 1841, outliving her husband by sixteen years and one month. Due to her Protestant religion, her funeral was conducted with so little royal dignity that there were public protests. By order of the Catholic archbishop of Munich, Lothar Anselm von Gebsattel, all participating Catholic clergy were dressed in ordinary clothes instead of church vestments. The Protestant clergy were halted at the church door and not allowed to proceed inside for the service, so Ludwig Friedrich Schmidt gave the funeral sermon there. Afterward, the funeral procession dissipated, and the coffin was placed in the burial crypt without ceremony. This treatment of his beloved stepmother permanently softened the attitude of Caroline's stepson Ludwig I of Bavaria, who up until that time had been a strong opponent of Protestantism despite his marriage to the Protestant princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

## Issue[edit]

Issue

Name  | Portrait  | Birth  | Death  | Notes
Son |  | 5 September 1799 | Stillborn
Maximilian Joseph Charles |  | 28 October 1800 | 12 February 1803 | Died in childhood
Elisabeth Louise
Queen consort of Prussia |  | 13 November 1801
(twins) | 14 December 1873 | Married in 1823 the future King Frederick William IV of Prussia and had no issue
Amalie Auguste
Queen consort of Saxony |  | 8 November 1877 | Married in 1822 the future King John of Saxony and had issue
Marie Anne Leopoldine
Queen consort of Saxony |  | 27 January 1805
(twins) | 13 September 1877 | Married in 1833 the future King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony and had no issue
Sophia Frederica
Archduchess of Austria |  | 28 May 1872 | Married in 1824 Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and had issue
Louise Wilhelmina
Duchess in Bavaria |  | 30 August 1808 | 25 January 1892 | Married in 1828 Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and had issue
Maximiliana Josepha Caroline |  | 21 July 1810 | 4 February 1821 | Died in childhood

## Honours[edit]

* Electorate of Bavaria /  Kingdom of Bavaria : Sovereign of the Order of Saint Elizabeth (feminine order)
* Russian Empire : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine, 9 April 1801[1]

## Ancestors[edit]

Ancestors of Caroline of Baden[2]

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 16\. Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach

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| 8\. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach|

|  |  |
| 17\. Princess Magdalena Wilhelmine of Württemberg

| 4\. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden|

|  |  |  |  |
| 18\. John William Friso, Prince of Orange

| 9\. Princess Amalia of Nassau-Dietz|

|  |  |
| 19\. Princess Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel

| 2\. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 20\. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

| 10\. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt|

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| 21\. Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach

| 5\. Princess Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt|

|  |  |  |  |
| 22\. Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg

| 11\. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg|

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| 23\. Margravine Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach

| 1\. Caroline of Baden|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 24\. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 20)

| 12\. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 10)|

|  |  |
| 25\. Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach (= 21)

| 6\. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt|

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| 26\. Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (= 22)

| 13\. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg (= 11)|

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| 27\. Margravine Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach (= 23)

| 3\. Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 28\. Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

| 14\. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken|

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| 29\. Countess Katharina Agathe of Rappoltstein

| 7\. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken|

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| 30\. Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken

| 15\. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken|

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| 31\. Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine von Baden.

1. ^ Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817. l'Académie Imp. des Sciences. 1817. p. 69.
2. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. pp. 38 (father), 69 (mother).

* Françoise de Bernardy : "Stéphanie de Beauharnais, fille adoptive de Napoléon et grande-duchesse de Bade " L.A.P. Pais, 1977.

Preceded by

Augusta Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt

|  Duchess of Zweibrücken
1797–1825  | Succeeded by

Last of title

|
|

Preceded by

Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este

|  Electress of Bavaria
1799–1806  | Succeeded by

Last of title

Preceded by

New title

|  Queen of Bavaria
1806–1825  | Succeeded by

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Baden by birth

The generations indicate descent from Charles Frederick, the first Grand Duke of a united Baden. Only princesses with articles are included. Later generations do not legally hold a title due to the abolition of the monarchy in 1918-19.

1st generation|

* Amalie, Princess von Fürstenberg

2nd generation|

* Caroline, Queen of Bavaria
* Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia
* Frederica, Queen of Sweden
* Marie, Duchess of Brunswick and Lunenburg
* Wilhelmine, Grand Duchess of Hesse
* Alexandrine, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
* Marie, Princess of Leiningen
* Cecilie, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia
* Sophie, Princess of Lippe
* Leopoldine, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

3rd generation|

* Victoria, Queen of Sweden
* Marie, Duchess of Anhalt

4th generation|

* Marie Alexandra, Princess Wolfgang of Hesse

5th generation|

* Margarita, Princess Tomislav of Yugoslavia*

*Titular princess of Baden due to the 1918 German Revolution

* v
* t
* e

Electresses of Bavaria

* Princess Elisabeth of Lorraine (1623–1635)
* Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1635–1651)
* Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (1651–1676)
* Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (1685–1692)
* Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska (1695–1726)
* Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1726–1745)
* Princess Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony (1747–1777)
* Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach (1777–1794)
* Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este (1795–1799)
* Princess Caroline of Baden (1799–1806)

* v
* t
* e

Queens of Bavaria

* Princess Caroline of Baden (1806–1825)
* Duchess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1825–1848)
* Princess Marie of Prussia (1848–1864)
* Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1913–1918)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* Italy
* Israel

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* RISM

*[m.]: married
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*[e]: Edit this template