Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria (13 November 1801 – 14 December 1873) was

queen of Prussia The Queen of Prussia () was the queen consort of the ruler of the Kingdom of Prussia, from its establishment in 1701 to its abolition in 1918. As all rulers of Prussia had to be male, there was never a Queen regnant of Prussia. Until 1806, the Qu ...

as the wife of King

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the " romanticist on the t ...

. By birth, she was a Bavarian princess from the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

; she was related to the ruling houses of Austria and

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

through the marriages of her sisters. She supported her husband's interests in art and made charitable donations.

Biography

Early life

Elisabeth was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the daughter of King

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was ...

and his Queen Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine Margravine of Baden. She was the identical twin sister of Queen Amalie of Saxony, consort of King

John I of Saxony John (; ; 12 December 1801 – 29 October 1873) was King of Saxony from 9 August 1854 until his death in 1873. He was a member of the House of Wettin. During his reign, Saxony became a part of the German Empire. Early life John was born in ...

, and sister of Archduchess Sophie of Austria, mother of Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

and Emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...

; as well as Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria, mother of Franz Josef's consort, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (''Sisi''), who was Elisabeth's godchild and namesake. She was known within her family as Elise.

Crown Princess

On 29 November 1823, she married the future King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

and supported his intellectual interests, namely his attempts at artwork, which he held dear to his heart. She refused to become a Protestant as a condition of her marriage, to ascend the throne of Prussia next to the future king, insisting that she would only convert if she was convinced on the merits of the reformed faith after studying it for herself. It was on 5 May 1830, seven years after her marriage, that Elisabeth formally converted to Protestantism. Her union was reportedly happy, but remained childless: after a single miscarriage in 1828, Elisabeth was unable to have any offspring.Wolfram Letzner: ''Berlin – eine Biografie. Menschen und Schicksale von den Askaniern bis Helmut Kohl und zur Hauptstadt Deutschlands'' (in German). Nünnerich Asmus, Mainz 2016.

Queen

Becoming Queen consort of Prussia in 1840, she was never without influence in Prussian politics, where she was active in preserving the close friendship between Prussia and the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. To Frederick William IV, she was an exemplary wife and, during his long illness, a dedicated nurse. She was initially hostile to her nephew's British wife,

Victoria, Princess Royal Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia as the wife of Frederick III, German Emperor. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom ...

, known within the family as Vicky, but their relationship thawed when Vicky took care of Elisabeth and comforted her during the early painful days of her widowhood. Elisabeth never forgot Vicky's kindness and in her will broke with tradition by leaving Vicky her jewels. These jewels were meant to have been bequeathed to the current Queen, (

Augusta of Saxe-Weimar Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Born ''Princess'' ''Maria Luise Augusta Katharina of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach''; 30 September 1811 – 7 January 1890), was Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the wife of William I, German Emperor. A ...

, Elisabeth's sister-in-law, who was by then Prussian Queen and German Empress); this was an offense for which Augusta never forgave Vicky.

Queen Dowager

After her husband's death on 2 January 1861, Elisabeth lived quietly at her seats at

Sanssouci Sanssouci () is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, and Stolzenfels and dedicated herself to charity work in memory of her late husband. Her brother-in-law,

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

, held her in high regard as a true friend. Elisabeth died in 1873 in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

during a visit to her sister, Queen Amalie of Saxony. She was buried next to her husband on 21 December at the

Friedenskirche The Protestant Church of Peace () is situated in the Marly Gardens on the Green Fence (''Am Grünen Gitter'') in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. The church was built according to the wishes and with the close involve ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* The information in this article is based on that in its German equivalent. * Moritz Freiherr von Bissing: ''Elisabeth Königin von Preußen'', Berlin 1974. * Ludovika Hesekiel: ''Elisabeth Luise, Königin von Preußen'' (Berlin 1881). * Dorothea Minkels: "Porträts der preußischen Königin Elisabeth in der Sammlung des Stadtmuseums Berlin." in: Jahrbuch 2004/2005 Stadtmuseum Berlin, pg. 278–304. * Alfred v. Reumont: ''Elisabeth, Königin von Preußen'' (Berlin 1874) * Dorothea Minkels: Elisabeth von Preußen. Königin in der Zeit des AusMÄRZens. Norderstedt 2008.

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth Ludovika Of Bavaria 1801 births 1873 deaths 19th-century German people 19th-century German women 19th-century Lutherans Bavarian princesses Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism Nobility from Munich House of Wittelsbach Princesses of Neuchâtel Prussian princesses Queens consort of Prussia German Lutherans German twins Daughters of kings Frederick William IV of Prussia Daughters of dukes Daughters of prince-electors