Marie of Prussia
| Marie of Prussia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen consort of Bavaria | |
| Tenure | 28 March 1848 – 10 March 1864 |
| Born |
15 October 1825 Berlin City Palace, Prussia |
| Died | 17 May 1889 (aged 63) Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria |
| Burial | Theatine Church |
| Spouse | Maximilian II of Bavaria |
| Issue |
Ludwig II Otto I |
| House | House of Hohenzollern |
| Father | Prince Wilhelm of Prussia |
| Mother | Princess Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg |
| Religion | Evangelical Christian Church, later Roman Catholicism |
Marie of Prussia (German: Marie Friederike Franziska Hedwig von Preußen; October 15, 1825 – May 17, 1889) was Queen of Bavaria and the mother of Kings Ludwig II and Otto of Bavaria.
Born and raised in Berlin, she was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, a younger brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, and his wife Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. As a young woman, Marie was seriously considered as a wife for Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, until her engagement to Maximilian was announced.
On 12 October 1842, she married the Crown Prince, and later King of Bavaria, Maximilian II.
Marie was loved equally by both the Protestants and Roman Catholic populations. (At that time, Prussia was mostly Evangelical, whilst Bavaria was mostly Roman Catholic.) A specific emphasis of her "great social engagement" was a reactivation of the Bavarian Women's Association, which took place on 18 December 1869 with the aid of her son, Ludwig II. Its aim was "Pflege und Unterstützung der im Felde verwundeten und erkrankten Krieger" (Care and support of soldiers wounded and injured in the field). The Bavarian Red Cross was officially founded as a result of the Bavarian Women's Association. The Red Cross eventually took over for the Queen.
With the sudden death of Maximilian II on 10 March 1864, Marie became a widow. On 12 October 1874, she converted to Roman Catholicism.
...
Wikipedia