Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach

Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe
Margravine consort of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Tenure 4 November 1681 – 22 March 1686
Predecessor Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach
Successor Christiane Charlotte of Württemberg-Winnental
Electress consort of Saxony
Tenure 17 April 1692 - 27 April 1694
Predecessor Anna Sophie of Denmark
Successor Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Born (1662-04-13)13 April 1662
Friedewald
Died 9 September 1696(1696-09-09) (aged 34)
Schloss Pretzsch, Pretzsch
Burial Freiberg Cathedral
Spouse John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
(m. 1681; d. 1686)
John George IV, Elector of Saxony
(m. 1692; d. 1694)
Issue Caroline, Queen of Great Britain
Margrave Frederick Augustus
William Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Full name
Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise
House Wettin
Father John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
Mother Countess Johanna of Sayn-Wittgenstein

Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise of Saxe-Eisenach (13 April 1662 – 9 September 1696), was a German princess member of the House of Wettin and through her two marriages was Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (from 1681 to 1686) and Electress of Saxony (from 1692 to 1694).

Biography

Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise was the eldest child of John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein. From her seven younger siblings, only four survive adulthood: Frederick August, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Eisenach, John George II, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach and Fredericka Elisabeth (by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weisselfels).

In Eisenach on 4 November 1681, Eleonore married firstly John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach as his second wife. They had three children:[1]

After the death of her husband (22 March 1686), the government of Brandenburg-Ansbach passed to her stepson Christian Albert (eldest surviving son of her husband's first marriage), who being a minor ruled under a regency. Because her relationship with her stepchildren wasn't good since the beginning, Eleonore and her children moved to Crailsheim, where they lived in poverty; shortly after, she returned alone to her homeland Eisenach,[4][5] while her children were sent to Berlin, where they became companions of the together with Frederick William, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg. In November 1691 Eleonore also arrived in Berlin to actively participate in the negotiations of her second marriage.[6]

In Leipzig on 17 April 1692, Eleonore married secondly John George IV, Elector of Saxony[7][8] and moved with her children to Dresden, where the Saxon court was established. The wedding was concluded at the insistence of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg (who wanted to secure an alliance with Saxony)[lower-alpha 1][9] and the Dowager Electress Anna Sophie of Denmark, ostensibly to produce legitimate heirs to the Electorate of Saxony but truly to end the liaison between her son and his mistress, Magdalene Sibylle "Billa" of Neidschutz.

The union proved to be unsuccessful;[5] John George IV lived openly with Billa, and she became the first ever Official Mistress (Favoritin) of an Elector of Saxony; while Eleonore was relegated to the Hofe (the official residence of the Elector).[4] In addition, the Electress suffered two miscarriages during their marriage, in August 1692[7] and February 1693,[10] and a phantom pregnancy in December 1693.[11] In March 1693 began rumors at the Saxon court that Eleonore wasn't the lawful wife of John Georg IV, because at the time of their marriage, he was already married with Billa;[12] was even found a document confirming the conclusion of a marriage contract between the Elector of Saxony and his mistress, but John George IV (probably fearing the anger of the Hohenzollerns) said that he didn't considers this contract as a formal marriage, and that was only made with the purpose to legitimize his offspring with Billa.[10] Nevertheless, during all his marriage, John George IV desperately wanted to legitimize the relationship with his mistress and tried to get rid of his wife and her children; fearing for her and her children's lives, Eleonore left the Hofe and settled in Pretzsch.[13]

During this time, Eleonore confided in the English diplomat George Stepney, who wrote extensively about her and the Saxon court. John George IV died on 27 April 1694 from smallpox after being infected by the dying Billa.[13][14] The new Elector, Frederick Augustus I allowed the Dowager Electress and her children to remain in Pretzsch, where they lived until Eleonore's death two years later, on 9 September 1696.[13][14][15] She was buried at Freiberg Cathedral.

After her death, Eleonore's children were sent back to Ansbach to the court of their older half-brother George Frederick II,[8] who became in the new Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach after Christian Albert's death in 1692. George Frederick II, as well as his predecessor, was a minor and ruled under a regency, who had little interest in the education of the children. William Frederick stayed in Ansbach and in 1703 after the death of his brother inherited the Margraviate; Caroline went to Berlin at Charlottenburg Palace under the care of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, who was a friend of Eleonore.[5][13][16]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Electorate of Saxony was heavily influenced by Austria. Saxon Field Marshal Hans Adam von Schöning longed for liberation of the Electorate from Austrian influence. To this end, he made sure that John George IV made an offer to Eleonore, who by her first marriage now belonged to the House of Hohenzollern. This option is most suited and Frederick III, as the marriage of Eleonore and John George IV marked the actual transition of the Electorate to the side of the future King of Prussia.

References

  1. 1 2 Weir 2011, pp. 277–278.
  2. ↑ Van der Kiste 2013, p. 17.
  3. ↑ Beatty 2003, pp. 138–166.
  4. 1 2 Arkell 1939, p. 5.
  5. 1 2 3 Beatty 2003, p. 134.
  6. ↑ Sharp 2001, p. 21.
  7. 1 2 Sharp 2001, p. 23.
  8. 1 2 Van der Kiste 2013, p. 2.
  9. ↑ Van der Kiste 2013, pp. 2–3.
  10. 1 2 Sharp 2001, p. 38.
  11. ↑ Sharp 2001, pp. 48–49.
  12. ↑ Sharp 2001, p. 37.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Van der Kiste 2013, p. 3.
  14. 1 2 Arkell 1939, p. 6.
  15. ↑ Hichens 2006, p. 19.
  16. ↑ Arkell 1939, pp. 6–7.

Sources

Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
Born: 13 April 1662 Died: 9 September 1696
German nobility
Vacant
Title last held by
Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach		 Margravine consort of Brandenburg-Ansbach
4 November 1681 – 22 March 1686 		Vacant
Title next held by
Christiane Charlotte of Württemberg-Winnental
Vacant
Title last held by
Anna Sophie of Denmark		 Electress consort of Saxony
17 April 1692 – 27 April 1694 		Succeeded by
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

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