Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg

Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg (13 October 1785, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe – 14 April 1846, Berlin) was a German noblewoman. She was the most senior woman at the Prussian court from 1810–40. She was styled as "Princess Wilhelm of Prussia".

Princess Maria Anna
Princess Wilhelm of Prussia
1820 oil painting by Wilhelm Schadow
Born(1785-10-13)13 October 1785
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe
Died14 April 1846(1846-04-14) (aged 60)
Berlin
SpousePrince Wilhelm of Prussia
Issue
…Details		Prince Adalbert
Elisabeth, Princess Karl of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Waldemar
Marie, Queen of Bavaria
HouseHesse
FatherFrederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
MotherCaroline of Hesse-Darmstadt

Life

She was the twelfth child (and sixth daughter) of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt, thus being a granddaughter of Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken, known as the "great Landgräfin".

Maria Anna belonged to the anti-Napoleon-party around Queen Luise and supported the war against France in 1806. She followed the royal house in its escape from the French occupation.

After the death of Queen Luise in 1810, she acted as first lady in official occasions. In March 1813, she proclaimed the famous "Aufruf der königlichen Prinzessinnen an die Frauen im preußischen Staate" and founded the patriotic women's association "Vaterländischen Frauenverein." She corresponded with Freiherr vom Stein, von Hardenberg and the Humboldt brothers and was an acquaintance of the poet Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. In 1822, she was in love with Count Anton of Stolberg-Wernigerode, who later became Prussian Minister of State. She was active in prison care at the Berliner Gefängnisinsassen and founded an orphanage in Pankow in Berlin.

Marriage and issue

She married in 1804 to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1783–1851), her first cousin, and they had seven children:

Ancestry

References

    Bibliography
    • Horst Häker (Hrsg.): Tagebuch der Prinzessin Marianne von Preußen. (= Heilbronner Kleist-Editionen; 1). Kleist-Archiv Sembdner, Heilbronn 2006, ISBN 3-931060-97-7
    • Stefan Hartmann (1990), "Marianne", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 16, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 210–211; (full text online)
    • Hermann von Petersdorff (1906), "Marianne, Prinzessin von Preußen", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 52, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 202–210
    • Karl Schwartz: Landgraf Friedrich V. von Hessen-Homburg und seine Familie. Aus Archivalien und Familienpapieren. Rudolstadt 1878

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