Gisela Agnes of Rath
| Gisela Agnes of Rath | |
|---|---|
Gisela Agnes of Rath
|
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| Spouse(s) | Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen |
| Noble family | von Rath |
| Father | Balthasar William of Rath |
| Mother | Magdalene Dorothee of Wuthenau |
| Born |
9 October 1669 Kleinwülknitz, now part of Köthen |
| Died | 12 March 1740 (aged 70) Nienburg |
| Buried | St. Jacob church in Köthen |
Gisela Agnes of Rath (9 October 1669 in Kleinwülknitz, now part of Köthen – 12 March 1740 in Nienburg) was Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen by marriage from 1692. In 1694, she was created Countess of Nienburg. From 1704 to 1715, she was regent of Anhalt-Köthen for her underage son.
Gisela Agnes was a member of an ancient aristocratic Lutheran family. Her parents were Balthasar William of Rath, Baron of Kleinwülknitz, and Magdalene Dorothee of Wuthenau. Her paternal grandfather was Wilhelm von Rath; he had commanded the army of Prince Louis I of Anhalf-Köthen during the Thirty Years' War.
The heir to the throne, the young Prince Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen fell in love with her. His mother, Princess Eleonore, tried to end this relationship, because Gisela Agnes was considered lower nobility, and unsuitable to marry a ruling Prince. She sent Gisela Agnes to her sister in Stadthagen. However, immediately after Emmanuel Lebrecht had assumed government, he "quietly" married her, on 30 September 1692.
This was a morganatic marriage. Moreover, Prince Emmanuel Lebrecht was a Calvinist and Gisela Agnes was Lutheran. The marriage sparked vehement protest from both the Reformed church and the princely family. Nevertheless, children from this marriage were officially recognized as potential heirs to the throne by the Princes of Anhalt in 1698 and by the emperor in 1699. The later Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen all descend from the "unequal" marriage.
During his lifetime, her husband had arranged that after his death, she would act as regent for their son Leopold. So when he died in 1704, she took up the regency.
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