Countess Maria Louise Albertine | |
---|---|
Princess George William of Hesse-Darmstadt | |
Marie Louise Albertine of Hesse-Darmstadt in a painting around 1753
by Johann Christian Fiedler |
|
Born |
Obrigheim, Electorate of the Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire |
16 March 1729
Died | 11 March 1818 Neustrelitz, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German Confederation |
(aged 88)
Spouse | Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt |
Issue among others... |
Ludwig Georg Karl of Hesse-Darmstadt Friederike, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg Georg Karl of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt Louise, Grand Duchess of Hesse Augusta Wilhelmine, Duchess of Zweibrücken |
House | Leiningen |
Father | Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim |
Mother | Countess Katharina Polyxena of Solms-Rödelheim |
Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg (16 March 1729 – 11 March 1818); also known as Princess George, was heiress to the barony of Broich and by marriage Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the grandmother and educator of Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who later became Queen consort of Prussia.
Maria Louise Albertine was a daughter of Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim (1695–1766) and his wife Countess Katharina Polyxena of Solms-Rödelheim (1702–1765). After the death of her father, she was heiress to the barony of Broich and began with the architect Nicolas de Pigage, the restoration and expansion of the Broich Castle. In 1806, the government of Broich was dissolved by Napoleon in 1815 and Broich was annexed by Prussia.
On 16 March 1748, She married Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt, the brother of the reigning Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt in Heidesheim am Rhein. As Louis IX stayed almost exclusively in Pirmasens, she felt obliged, after the death of his wife in 1774, to represent the territory in the capital Darmstadt.
Her daughters Friederike and Charlotte were the first and second wives of Prince Charles II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They both died in childbirth. Charles then ended his service as governor-general in Hannover and moved with his children to his mother in Darmstadt. Princess George was a widow since 1782 and took over the education and care of Charles's children.
Charlotte did not move with her father to Darmstadt. At the age of 16, she had been married the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. His father visited his two sons frequently and moved to Hildburghausen with his oldest daughter in 1787, after he became president of the local imperial debit commission. Thus, Maria Luise cared primarily for Louise and her sisters Therese and Frederica for whom she provided a secure and largely informal home in the "Old Palace" at the market square in Darmstadt. She employed regional educational methods.