Princess Augusta of Bavaria

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.

Princess Augusta
Duchess of Leuchtenberg
Born(1788-06-21)21 June 1788
Strasbourg
Died13 May 1851(1851-05-13) (aged 62)
Munich
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1806; died 1824)​
IssueJoséphine, 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
HouseWittelsbach
FatherMaximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
MotherPrincess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Coat of arms of Auguste Amélie de Bavière.

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 1796 from lung problems and her father remarried a year 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.[1] 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.

  • A young Princess Augusta.
  • Augusta's marriage to Eugène de Beauharnais, by François Guillaume Menageot
  • Augusta with her daughters Joséphine and Eugénie
  • Tomb of Augusta of Bavaria

Honours

Ancestry

References
  1. Abbott, J.S.C. (1856). Confidential Correspondence of The Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Josephine: Including Letters from the Time of their Marriage until the Death of Josephine and also Several Private Letters from the Emperor to his Brother Joseph, and other Important Personages. New York: Mason Brothers. pp. 86–88.
  2. Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 4. Retrieved 28 November 2019.

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
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