Louise Caroline of Hochberg
| Louise Caroline von Hochberg | |
|---|---|
Louise Caroline, Countess von Hochberg. Contemporary Painting, 1800
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| Spouse(s) | Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden |
| Noble family | Geyer von Geyersberg |
| Father | Lieutenant Colonel Baron Louis Henry Philipp Geyer von Geyersberg |
| Mother | Countess Maximiliana Christiane von Sponeck |
| Born |
26 May 1768 Karlsruhe |
| Died | 23 June 1820 (aged 52) Karlsruhe |
Louise Caroline von Hochberg, born Geyer von Geyersberg, from 1787 Baroness von Hochberg, from 1796 Countess of Hochberg (26 May 1768 in Karlsruhe – 23 June 1820, Karlsruhe) was the morganatic second wife of the Margrave and later Grand Duke Charles Frederick of Baden. Her descendants eventually ascended the grandducal throne and reigned until 1918.
Louise Caroline Geyer von Geyersberg was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig Heinrich Philip Geyer von Geyersberg (1729-1772) and his wife, Countess Maximiliana Hedwiger von Sponeck. This last was the niece-in-law of Leopold Eberhard, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard. Louise Caroline descends from a family of Lower Austria surnamed Geiger; Walther Geiger, a postal administrator in Vienna, being ennobled in the Holy Roman Empire, along with some collateral relatives, in 1595. In 1625 Emperor Ferdinand II authorised them to add the noble suffix "von Geyersberg". Sometime after 1675 Louise Caroline's great-grandfather, Christophe Ferdinand, substituted a more aristocratic version of the surname, "Geyer von Geyersberg". While in the service of Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg his son, Christian Heinrich, self-assumed the title of baron in 1729, having married Christiane von Thummel the previous year. Nonetheless, prior to Louise Caroline's marriage, written references to her at the court of Baden omit any baronial title.
Louise Caroline attended a private school in Colmar. Later she attended the court of Baden-Durlach as a lady in waiting to the Hereditary Princess Amalie.
Although referred to at the wedding on 24 November 1787 by the title "Baroness Geyer von Geyersberg" by her fiance, her marriage to the Margrave Charles Frederick, who had been widowed since 1783, was at the time deemed morganatic because she was regarded as of unequal rank to the prince. Following the wedding, the Margrave declared that his wife would bear the title of Baroness von Hochberg. In the same proclamation, co-signed by the three sons of his first marriage, he reserved decision on the title and succession rights of sons to be born of the marriage. In July 1799 letters patent were issued by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, of retroactive effect to 12 May 1796, elevating her to the Imperial title Countess of Hochberg. She never obtained the rank of an Imperial princess, nor that of Margravine, the title borne by Charles Frederick's first wife.
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