Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
| Louise of Stolberg-Gedern | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Albany | |
Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern, oil on canvas by François-Xavier Fabre
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| Born |
20 September 1752 Mons, Austrian Netherlands (modern day Belgium) |
| Died | 29 January 1824 (aged 71) Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
| Spouse | Charles Edward Stuart, Count of Albany |
| House | House of Stuart |
| Father | Prince Gustav Adolf of Stolberg-Gedern |
| Mother | Princess Elisabeth of Hornes |
Princess Louise Maximilienne Caroline Emmanuele of Stolberg-Gedern (20 September 1752 – 29 January 1824) was the wife of the Jacobite claimant to the English and Scottish thrones Charles Edward Stuart. She is commonly called Countess of Albany.
Louise was born in Mons, Hainaut, in the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), the eldest daughter of Prince Gustav Adolf of Stolberg-Gedern and of his wife Princess Elisabeth of Hornes, the daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Hornes. When she was only four years old, her father was killed at the Battle of Leuthen. When she was seven, she was sent to be educated at the school attached to the convent of St. Waudru in Mons. The mission of this convent was to provide a home for young ladies of the nobility who had insufficient financial means to live unmarried in the world. In 1766 the Empress Maria Theresa arranged for the convent to give to Louise one of its endowed prebends. Although technically Louise was a canoness (a type of nun), she was not required to stay in the convent cloister and was still allowed to travel in society. Indeed, for most of the canonesses, the acceptance of a prebend was merely a temporary stage until they found appropriate noble husbands.
In 1771 Louise's younger sister (also a canoness at St. Waudru) married the Marquess of Jamaica, only son of the 3rd Duke of Berwick (great-grandson of King James II of England and VII of Scotland). The Duke of Berwick's uncle, the duc de Fitz-James, began negotiations with Louise's mother for a marriage between Louise and Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite claimant to the English and Scottish thrones. Although King Louis XV of France recognised the succession of the House of Hanover, he also hoped that the legitimate Stuart line would not die out and would be an ongoing threat to the Hanoverians.
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