Auguste von Harrach

Wife of Prussian King
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroWife of Prussian King
PlacesRussia
wasKing
Work fieldMilitary Royals
Gender
Female
Religion:Protestantism
Birth30 August 1800, Dresden, Dresden Directorate District, Saxony, Germany
Death5 June 1873Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hochtaunuskreis, Darmstadt Government Region, Hesse (aged 72 years)
Family
Spouse:Frederick William III of Prussia
The details

Biography

Auguste von Harrach (30 August 1800 – 5 June 1873), was the second spouse of King Frederick William III of Prussia. Since the marriage was morganatic, she was not named Queen, but was given the titles Princess of Liegnitz (modern-day Legnica) and Countess of Hohenzollern. Frederick reportedly stated, that he did not wish to have another queen after his first one.

Auguste was the issue of Count Ferdinand Joseph von Harrach of Rohrau (1763–1841) and Christiane von Rayski (1767–1830). She met Frederick on a spa in Teplitz in Bohemia in 1822. Auguste and Frederick married at Charlottenburg Palace 9 November 1824. As Auguste was a Catholic and a non-royal, the marriage was initially kept a secret. In many quarters the marriage was greeted with great surprise and some initially refused to believe it. The Princess of Liegnitz converted to Protestantism in 1826.

Auguste was put more or less outside the protocol in the court life of Berlin, she ranked after all the princes and princesses of the royal family. She was not politically active and had no children. She nursed Frederick when he died in 1840, but was not allowed to attend the funeral.

Auguste was given a large allowance and allowed to continue to live in the royal palace as a widow. She made many travels during her later years, to Italy and England. She was the god-mother to her nephew, the painter Ferdinand von Harrach (1832–1915).

Ancestry

Ancestors of Auguste von Harrach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Count Aloys Raymund Harrach zu Rohrau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Count Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Countess Anna Cäcilia von Thannhausen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Count Ernst Quido von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Princess Maria Eleonore Karolina von und zu Liechtenstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Count Ferdinand Joseph von Harrach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Walther Franz Xaver Anton, 4th Prince von Dietrichstain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Karl Maximilian von Dietrichstein-Proskau, 5th Prince of Dietrichstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Karolina Maximiliana Pruskovská z Pruskova
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Princess Maria Josepha von Dietrichstein-Proskau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Siegmund Friedrich I Count von Khevenhüller zu Hohenosterwitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Countess Maria Anna Josepha von Khevenhüller zu Aichelberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Countess Gfn Ernestine von Orsini und Rosenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Auguste von Harrach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Johann Carl Rajský z Dubnice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Johann Heinrich Adolf von Rayski von Dubnitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Georg Friedrich von Leoben
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Sophie Dorothea von Leoben
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Eva Sophie von Schönberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Johanne Christiane Sophia Rayski von Dubnitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Christian Leyser
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Johann Gottlieb von Leyser
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Anna Clara Detzschel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Christiane Sophie von Leyser
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Johann Weller von Molsdorff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Sophie Elisabeth Weller von Molsdorff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Dorothea Fiedler
 
 
 
 
 
 
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.