Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (Caroline Henriette Christiane Philippine Louise; 9 March 1721 – 30 March 1774) was Landgravine of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse be ...

by marriage to

Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Ludwig) (15 December 1719 – 6 April 1790) was the reigning Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1768 to 1790. Louis IX and his wife became the most recent common ancestors of all current European monarchs ...

. She was famed as one of the most learned women of her time and known as The Great Landgräfin.

Biography

Henriette Caroline was the daughter of Christian III, Duke of Zweibrücken and his wife

Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

. She married on 12 August 1741 in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; old ...

. The marriage was arranged and unhappy: Caroline was interested in music and literature, while her consort was interested in military matters, and she lived separated from him at Buchsweiler. She founded a factory to ease the states economy. In 1772, she 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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

. She befriended several writers and philosophers of her time, such as

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohr ...

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''Oberon'', which formed the ba ...

and Goethe. Wieland wished he had the power to make her ''Queen of Europa''. She 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 her death, he sent an urn to Darmstadt with the text ''femina sexo, 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. She and her husband became the most recent common ancestors of all current European monarchs in 2022 after the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

of the United Kingdom, who was not a descendant; her son,

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

– a descendant through his father – succeeded her as the King.

Issue

Ancestry

Literature

*Marita A. Panzer: ''Die Große Landgräfin Caroline von Hessen-Darmstadt'', Verlag Friedrich Pustet Regensburg, 2005

References

External links

Karoline Henriette Christine Pfalzgräfin von Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld at thepeerage.comWikisource: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' "Karoline Landgräfin von Hessen-Darmstadt" (in German)
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Caroline of Zweibrucken, Countess Palatine 1721 births 1774 deaths House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken People from Strasbourg Landgravines of Hesse-Darmstadt Countesses Palatine of Zweibrücken