Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Karl August
Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Reign	1 January 1728 – 29 August 1763
Predecessor	Friedrich Anton Ulrich
Successor	Friedrich Karl August
Born	24 September 1704 Hanau, Waldeck
Died	29 August 1763 (aged 58) Arolsen, Waldeck and Pyrmont
Spouse	Christiane Henriette, Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken
Issue	Prince Charles Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont Prince Christian George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princess Caroline Princess Louise Prince Louis
House	House of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Father	Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Mother	Countess Palatine Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

Karl August Friedrich of Waldeck and Pyrmont (24 September 1704 – 29 August 1763) was Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Commander of the Dutch forces in the War of Austrian Succession.

Royal life and military career

Karl was the second son of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Countess Palatine Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.
In 1728 his father and his elder brother Christian Philip died, and so he became Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

The Waldecks had a tradition of military service in the Dutch Army.
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck had already led the Dutch army in the War of the Grand Alliance. In the War of Austrian Succession, Karl was appointed as commander of the Dutch Army by the States-General of the Netherlands, as counterbalance to William IV, Prince of Orange, who relied completely on his brother-in-law the Duke of Cumberland. The Dutch army under Waldeck's command was defeated in the Battle of Fontenoy, the Battle of Rocoux and the Battle of Lauffeld.

In 1746, Karl became Fieldmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire.

Marriage and children

In Zweibrücken, on 19 August 1741, Karl August married his first cousin Christiane Henriette, Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken (1725–1816), daughter of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken.

The couple had seven children:

• Prince Charles of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1742–1756)
• Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1743–1812)
• Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1744–1798), a Field Marshal in the Portuguese army
• George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1747–1813); married Princess Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
• Princess Caroline of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1748–1782), married Peter von Biron, last Duke of Courland and Semigallia
• Princess Louise of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1751–1816), married Frederick Augustus, Duke of Nassau
• Prince Louis of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1752–1793), killed in action near Kortrijk

Ancestry

Ancestors of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

16. Christian, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen               8. Philipp VII, Count of Waldeck                       17. Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen               4. Christian Ludwig, Count of Waldeck                             18. Ludwig II, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein               9. Countess Anna Katharina of Sayn-Wittgenstein                       19. Countess Elisabeth Juliana of Solms-Braunfels               2. Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont                                   20. Eberhard, Count of Rappoltstein               10. Georg Friedrich, Count of Rappoltstein                       21. Countess Anna von Salm, Wild- und Rheingräfin               5. Countess Anna Elisabeth of Rappoltstein                             22. Heinrich Wilhelm I, Count of Solms-Sonnenwalde               11. Countess Elisabeth Charlotte of Solms-Sonnenwalde                       23. Countess Maria Magdalena of Oettingen-Oettingen               1. Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont                                         24. Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld               12. Christian I, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler                       25. Duchess Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg               6. Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld                             26. John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken               13. Countess Palatine Magdalene Catharine of Zweibrücken                       27. Catherine de Rohan-Frontenay               3. Countess Palatine Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld                                   28. Eberhard, Count of Rappoltstein (= 20)               14. Count Johann Jakob of Rappoltstein                       29. Countess Anna von Salm, Wild- und Rheingräfin (= 21)               7. Countess Catharine Agathe of Rappoltstein                             30. Johann Kasimir, Count of Salm-Kyrburg, Wild- & Rheingraf               15. Countess Anna Claudia of Salm-Kyrburg, Wild- & Rheingräfin                       31. Countess Dorothea of Solms-Laubach

References

• Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy Euweb". Genealogy.EU.