Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel

Princess Marie Frederica
Duchess consort of Saxe-Meiningen
Born	6 September 1804 Kassel
Died	1 January 1888 (aged 83) Meiningen, Thüringen, Germany
Spouse	Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Issue	Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Augusta Louise, Princess Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg
Full name German: Marie Friederike Wilhelmine
House	Hesse-Kassel
Father	William II, Elector of Hesse
Mother	Princess Augusta of Prussia

Princess Marie Frederica Wilhelmina of Hesse-Kassel (6 September 1804 – 1 January 1888) was a daughter of William II, Elector of Hesse and Princess Augusta of Prussia.^[1] By her marriage to Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, she became Duchess consort of Saxe-Meiningen.

Family

Marie Frederica was one of six children born to William II, Elector of Hesse by his first wife Augusta of Prussia. Her only sibling to live past the age of five was Frederick William, Elector of Hesse however. In addition, she had eight half-siblings by her father's second marriage to Emilie Ortlöpp, Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz.

Marie Frederica's paternal grandparents were William I, Elector of Hesse and Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Marriage and children

In 1822, Marie, through the suggestion of her mother's friend, the Swedish countess Charlotta Aurora De Geer, was considered a possible bride for Oscar I of Sweden, but the following year, he married Josephine of Leuchtenberg instead.^[2]

On 23 March 1825, Marie married Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.^[1] He was a son of Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, as well as a brother of Queen Adelaide of the United Kingdom. He and Marie had two surviving issue:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen	2 April 1826	25 June 1914	married (1) Princess Charlotte Frederica of Prussia; had issue (2) Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; had issue (3) Ellen Franz; no issue
Princess Augusta Luise Adelaide Karoline Ida	6 August 1843	11 November 1919	married Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg

Her son Georg would remain an only child for seventeen years until the birth of his sister Augusta in 1843.^[3] Marie Frederica died on 1 January 1888, six years after her husband.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel

16. William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel               8. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel                       17. Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz               4. William I, Elector of Hesse                             18. George II of Great Britain               9. Princess Mary of Great Britain                       19. Caroline of Ansbach               2. William II, Elector of Hesse                                   20. Christian VI of Denmark               10. Frederick V of Denmark                       21. Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach               5. Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark                             22. George II of Great Britain               11. Louise of Great Britain                       23. Caroline of Ansbach               1. Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel                                         24. Frederick William I of Prussia               12. Prince Augustus William of Prussia (= 10)                       25. Sophia Dorothea of Hanover               6. Frederick William II of Prussia                             26. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               13. Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (= 11)                       27. Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg               3. Princess Augusta of Prussia                                   28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               14. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg               7. Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt                             30. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken               15. Caroline of Zweibrücken                       31. Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

References

1. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Marie Friederike Wilhelmine Prinzessin von Hessen-Kassel". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
2. Robert Braun (1950). Silvertronen. En bok om drottning Josefine av Sverige-Norge. Stockholm: Norlins förlag. Sid. 27-30. OCLC 14110774
3. Koller, p. 30.

Sources

• Koller, Ann Marie (1984). The Theater Duke: George II of Saxe-Meiningen and the German Stage. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1196-8.