Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (Caroline Henriette Christiane Philippine Louise; 9 March 1721 – 30 March 1774) was Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt by marriage to Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was famed as one of the most learned women of her time and known as The Great Landgräfin.
Together with Louis IX, her husband, she became the most recent common ancestors of all current sovereigns of hereditary monarchies in Europe in 2022 after Charles III became King of the United Kingdom.
Biography Caroline was the daughter of Christian III, Duke of Zweibrücken and his wife Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.
Caroline married on 12 August 1741 in Zweibrücken, Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The marriage was arranged and unhappy: Caroline was interested in music and literature, while Louis was interested in military matters. She lived separated from him at Buchsweiler. In 1772, Caroline promoted the politician Friedrich Karl von Moser.
Caroline was better known as The Great Landgräfin, a name given to her by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. She befriended several writers and philosophers of her time, such as Johann Gottfried Herder, Christoph Martin Wieland and Goethe. Wieland wished he had the power to make her Queen of Europa.
Caroline also had contact with Frederick II of Prussia. She was one of the few women that the Alte Fritz respected, and he famously referred to her as the Glory and Wonder of our century; after Caroline's death, he sent an urn to Darmstadt with the text femina sexu, ingenio vir ('A woman by sex, a man by spirit').Philipp A. Pauli: Darmstadt: Eine historisch-topographische Skizze und Excursionen in die Umgegend. Will, 1815, S. 89.
Caroline and her husband became the most recent common ancestors of all reigning hereditary European monarchs in 2022 after Charles III became King of the United Kingdom.
Issue NamePortraitBirthDeathNotes CarolineLandgravine of Hesse-Homburg 2 March 1746 18 September 1821 Married in 1768 Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, had issueFrederika LouisaQueen of Prussia 16 October 1751 25 February 1805 Married in 1769 Frederick William II of Prussia, had issue.Louis IGrand Duke of Hesse 14 June 1753 6 April 1830 Married in 1777 Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, had issueAmalieHereditary Princess of Baden 20 June 1754 21 June 1832 Married in 1774 Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden, had issueWilhelmina LouisaGrand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia 25 June 1755 26 April 1776 Married in 1773 the future Emperor Paul I of Russia, no surviving issueLouisa AugustaGrand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 30 January 1757 14 February 1830 Married in 1775 Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, had issueFriedrich Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt 10 June 1759 11 March 1802 never married, mistress was Catharina Wenedick, 2 illegitimate children: Lisette Thimotee Friedrich (born: 24 January 1799) and Friedrich Friedrich (born around 1800)ChristianLandgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt 25 November 1763 17 April 1830 Died unmarried
Ancestry
See also Marie Louise of Hesse-KasselMost recent common ancestress of all reigning hereditary European monarchs from the end of World War II until 2022 Louise of Hesse-KasselCommon ancestress of many reigning hereditary European monarchs Descendants of Christian IX of DenmarkLists progeny of Louise of Hesse-Kassel
References
Further reading Marita A. Panzer: Die Große Landgräfin Caroline von Hessen-Darmstadt, Verlag Friedrich Pustet Regensburg, 2005
External links
Wikisource: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie "Karoline Landgräfin von Hessen-Darmstadt" (in German)