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 |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | |
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