Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg

Landgravine Marie Anna
Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg, princess of Prussia
Born	(1785-10-13)13 October 1785 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe
Died	Berlin
Spouse	Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Issue	Princess Friederike (died in infancy) Princess Irene (stillborn) unnamed son (stillborn) Prince Tassilo (died in infancy) Prince Adalbert Prince Tassilo (died in infancy) Elisabeth, Princess Karl of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Waldemar Marie, Queen of Bavaria
House	House of Hesse (by birth) House of Hohenzollern (by marriage)
Father	Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Mother	Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt

Princess Marianne of Prussia, born Marie Anne Amalie, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg (13 October 1785, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe – 14 April 1846, Berlin) was a German noblewoman. She acted as the first lady of Prussia from 1810–40.

Life

She was the twelfth child (and sixth daughter) of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt, thus being a granddaughter of Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken, known as the "great Landgräfin". Maria Anna belonged to the anti-Napoleon-party around Queen Louise and supported the war against France in 1806. She followed the royal house in its escape from the French occupation. After the death of Queen Louise in 1810, she acted as first lady in official occasions. In March 1813, she proclaimed the famous "Aufruf der königlichen Prinzessinnen an die Frauen im preußischen Staate" and founded the patriotic women's association "Vaterländischen Frauenverein." She corresponded with Freiherr vom Stein, von Hardenberg and the Humboldt brothers and was an acquaintance of the poet Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. In 1822, she was in love with Count Anton of Stolberg-Wernigerode, who later became Prussian Minister of State. She was active in prison care at the Berliner Gefängnisinsassen and founded an orphanage in Pankow in Berlin.

Marriage and issue

She married in 1804 to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1783-1851), her first cousin, and they had seven children:

• Princess Amalie Friederike Luise Karoline Wilhelmine of Prussia (4 July 1805 - 23 November 1805); died in infancy.
• Princess Irene of Prussia (born and died 3 November 1806); stillborn.
• unnamed son (born and died 30 August 1809); stillborn.
• Prince Friedrich Tassilo Wilhelm of Prussia (29 October 1811 - 9 January 1813); died in infancy.
• Prince Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert of Prussia (29 October 1811 - 6 June 1873); married morganatically, in 1850, Therese Elssler and had issue.
• Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Tassilo of Prussia (15 November 1813 - 9 January 1814); died in infancy.
• Princess Marie Elisabeth Karoline Viktoria of Prussia (18 June 1815 - 21 March 1885); married, in 1836, Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine and had issue.
• Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar of Prussia (2 August 1817 - 17 February 1849)
• Princess Marie Friederike Franziska Hedwig of Prussia (15 October 1825 - 17 May 1889); married, in 1842, King Maximilian II of Bavaria and had issue.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg

16. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg               8. Landgrave Kasimir Wilhelm of Hesse-Homburg                       17. Princess Louise Elisabeth of Courland               4. Frederick IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg                             18. Wilhelm Moritz, Count of Solms-Braunfels               9. Countess Christine Charlotte of Solms-Braunfels                       19. Landgravine Magdalene Sophie of Hesse-Homburg               2. Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg                                   20. Wilhelm Moritz, Count of Solms-Braunfels (= 18)               10. Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Solms-Braunfels                       21. Landgravine Magdalene Sophie of Hesse-Homburg (= 19)               5. Countess Ulrike Louise of Solms-Braunfels                             22. Karl Otto, Count of Solms-Laubach-Utphe and Tecklenburg               11. Countess Sophie Magdalena Benigna of Solms-Laubach-Utphe                       23. Countess Louise of Schönburg-Waldenburg               1. Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg                                         24. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               12. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       25. Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach               6. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                             26. Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg               13. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg                       27. Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach               3. Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt                                   28. Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld               14. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken                       29. Katharina Agathe, Countess of Rappoltstein               7. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken                             30. Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken               15. Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken                       31. Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

References

• Horst Häker (Hrsg.): Tagebuch der Prinzessin Marianne von Preußen. (= Heilbronner Kleist-Editionen; 1). Kleist-Archiv Sembdner, Heilbronn 2006, ISBN 3-931060-97-7
• Stefan Hartmann (1990), "Marianne", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in Deutsch), 16, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 210–211; (full text online)
• Hermann von Petersdorff (1906), "Marianne, Prinzessin von Preußen", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in Deutsch), 52, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 202–210
• Karl Schwartz: Landgraf Friedrich V. von Hessen-Homburg und seine Familie. Aus Archivalien und Familienpapieren. Rudolstadt 1878