Childhood and youth (1811–1826): Shaped by the Weimar court Princess Augusta was born on 30 September 1811 in Weimar. She was the third (but second surviving) child of
Charles Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, sister of Emperor (Tsar)
Alexander I of Russia. The princess' baptism took place a few days later, on 6 October, with her full name being Maria Luise Augusta Catherina. As is usual with royal and princely families, Augusta grew up not primarily in the care of her parents, but rather with her
nanny Amalia Batsch. Her court teachers taught her four foreign languages: English, Russian, French and Latin. Additional subjects included mathematics, geography, religion, history, dancing, drawing, horse riding and music. Her teachers included specialists such as the court painter
Luise Seidler, the composer
Johann Nepomuk Hummel and the numismatist
Frédéric Soret. However, the most important point of reference for Augusta was the poet and natural scientist
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe organized the teaching content in consultation with Augusta's parents and taught it in the environment of the
University of Jena. For Augusta, looking back, Goethe was the "best, most dear friend" that she and her sister
Maria Luise (who was three years older than her), would have had in their childhood. Both sisters hardly had any contact with their peers. According to the historian
Lothar Gall, Augusta's political stance was shaped in the long term by her comparatively liberal family home. Her grandfather
Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach had already introduced a constitution in the Grand Duchy in 1816. According to
Monika Wienfort, this contributed to Augusta later advocating the transformation of Prussia into a
constitutional monarchy. As Gall believes, the political climate in Weimar favored Augusta's later proximity to a circle in the so-called
Wochenblattpartei, who advocated not only for a
Lesser Germany unity without Austria, but also for an "alliance with the leading forces of the liberal
bourgeoisie" and a continuation of the
Prussian reforms. The
GDR historian
Ernst Engelberg, on the other hand, fundamentally denies Augusta's liberal stance: her political views are more likely to be located in the tradition of
enlightened absolutism. She did not want to know anything about a "
parliamentary regime", but rather advocated "a
constitution freely chosen by the monarch". The Weimar court also shaped Augusta from a cultural perspective. She developed a strong interest in art, was considered well-educated and was particularly strictly brought up to observe official court manners, the so-called
etiquette.
Marriage to Prince William: Means of alliance politics and dynastic position Augusta's mother, Maria Pavlovna, made marriage plans for both daughters towards
Prussia, which bordered Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach on several sides and was therefore perceived as a threat to the Grand Duchy. The marriages of Augusta to
Prince William and Marie to
Prince Charles of Prussia, William's younger brother, were intended to ensure the continued existence of the Grand Duchy. Maria Pavlovna no longer considered the protection provided by family ties to the
Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp dynasty to be sufficient. Since she became Grand Duchess herself in 1828, she was able to push ahead with marriage efforts. On the Prussian side, the motivation was to further expand the dynastic ties with Russia, because Augusta was a niece of Emperor
Nicholas I. Since the joint victory over
Napoleon, Prussia and Russia were particularly close in terms of alliance politics. A daughter of the Prussian King
Frederick William III,
Princess Charlotte, had already been married to Nicholas, Emperor Alexander I's second brother and eventual successor, in 1817. Since his youth, Prince William, on the other hand, was in love with a former childhood playmate, his cousin
Princess Elisa Radziwiłł, daughter of his first cousin twice removed
Princess Louise. However, due to her paternal descent from the Polish noble family
Radziwiłł, Elisa was not considered an
equal. The Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach made his consent to the marriage of William's younger brother Charles and his daughter Marie conditional on William only being allowed to enter into a
morganatic marriage with Elisa. Frederick William III did not want such a connection, and therefore forbade his son to marry Elisa in June 1826. In the same year, William and Augusta met for the first time when Marie was engaged to Charles. Since it was now clear that William's older brother, the later
Frederick William IV, would remain childless, William now had the task of producing legitimate dynastic offspring. This is how Frederick William III arranged a marriage between William and Augusta. The Weimar princess saw several advantages in the connection. Before the marriage, Augusta, as the second-born daughter, held a lower rank at court than her older sister. Since the latter was only supposed to marry William's younger brother, Augusta would rank above Marie in Prussia and could expect to become the wife of the heir to the throne. In the following years, Augusta also devoted herself to the interior design of the palace. With the
English-inspired place and
landscape garden, she expressed her sympathies for
liberally governed Great Britain. Augusta also had a great influence on the interior design of her winter residence in Berlin, the
Altes Palais. Here she invited military men, politicians, scientists, artists and courtiers to evening tea parties. One of their favorite guests was the explorer
Alexander von Humboldt; there he reported on his travels or read classical literature. The antiquarian
Ernst Curtius was often present as a speaker and chess player. Political topics were also discussed, with Augusta using the meetings to gather information. In addition, she read several newspapers every day and, on this basis, created written summaries of the most important events for William. Through the meetings and exchanges with his wife, William thought (as he himself told her in a letter) that he could provide an official guideline for her statements. His aim was to influence their opinions in his favor and to conceal any disharmony between them from the public. William had Augusta take care of some of his writing correspondence: she had to proofread or copy texts he had written and was also a co-author of some of his correspondence. Such a division of tasks among royal couples was not unusual in the 19th century, because the
dynasty was considered a kind of "family business".
Wife of the heir to the throne (1840–1858) Increased interest in politics , 1846. With the death of King Frederick William III on 7 June 1840, William became heir to the throne. Augusta was critical of the policies of the new ruling Prussian king, her brother-in-law Frederick William IV. She viewed its
lack of reform as a mistake that would cost the monarchy the loyalty of the population. Augusta advocated early "voluntary surrender" and the fulfillment of the "general wishes" of the subjects. In their opinion, the existence of the monarchical form of rule itself was at risk if the crown did not respond to the demands of the political public. She shared the assessment with the British Queen's husband,
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, that Prussia should first become a constitutional state following the British model and only then should it implement
national unity for Germany. According to the historian Caroline Galm, Augusta saw it as her duty to give her son Frederick William a chance at the throne through his own political involvement. She therefore increasingly turned to political topics and from 1843 onwards wrote several memoranda, which she presented to both her husband and Prussian statesmen. For her advice, Augusta contacted, among others, the envoys
Alexander von Schleinitz and
Franz von Roggenbach, a politician from the
Grand Duchy of Baden. The correspondence between Roggenbach and Augusta has only been partially preserved, as Augusta had politically explosive letters
destroyed or returned by confidants for fear of censorship. In 1842–1843 she entrusted the prince with the landscaping of
Babelsberg Park. Augusta and Pückler agreed in their preference for the English
cottage style and were based on English pattern books, for example by the architect Robert Lugar. In order to emphasize his artistic proximity to Augusta, Pückler had a blacksmith's shop built in
Branitzer Park, which was similar to the
Small Castle in Babelsberg Park.
Revolution of 1848: Political appeals for reform and beginning of hostility with Bismarck . During the
Revolutions of 1848–1849 there were also
violent clashes between the military and the civilian population in Berlin. Augusta's husband was seen as primarily responsible for the bloodshed and was forced into exile in Great Britain. Meanwhile, Augusta took her two children to safety in Potsdam. Since she was considered comparatively enlightened by the public, she remained safe there. In response to the revolution, Augusta called for rapid reforms. In a letter to William dated 5 June 1848, she said: "It is now a matter of saving the monarchy and its support, the dynasty, this is the task for which no sacrifice can be big enough". She also recommended that Prussia, in the
German question, take the initiative and push forward a national agreement regardless of the politics in Vienna and St. Petersburg. She again advised that the Prussian people should have a say in political decisions. A constitution could create a legal and clearly regulated basis for this. The revolution of 1848–1849 had long-term consequences for Augusta's relationship with the future Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck: on 23 March 1848, shortly after the March Revolution of 1848, she received him in the Potsdam
City Palace. According to Augusta's version, Bismarck tried to win her over to a
counter-revolution against King Frederick William IV. Bismarck wanted to find out where her husband was so that he could ask him to give him orders to march on Berlin. That would have
treasonously counteracted the retreat of the soldiers ordered by King Frederick William IV. She was also bothered by the fact that Bismarck stated that he was acting on behalf of her brother-in-law Prince Charles, William's younger brother. Just a few days earlier, Charles had suggested that the King and Prince William
abdicate or forego the royal succession. Augusta therefore suspected him of wanting to take the royal throne himself and
stage a coup with Bismarck's help. Bismarck, for his part, subsequently accused Augusta of having plotted against William in 1848: she had worked towards taking over the
regency for her son Frederick William herself. For him, it was only about protecting the reigning king from the revolution with the help of the military. Since, according to the historian and Bismarck biographer
Eberhard Kolb, Augusta's and Bismarck's notes about the events contradict each other, the contents of the conversation can no longer be reconstructed. All that can be said with certainty is that Augusta had been hostile to Bismarck since this encounter. The historian David E. Barclay estimates her role to the effect that "she successfully defended William's position as heir to the throne in the spring and summer". William's relationship with his wife improved as a result. According to Barclay's account, he also approached her politically —influenced by Augusta's memoranda and letters. The prince, who had previously been
absolutist-minded, "slowly moved in a moderate-
conservative but constitutional direction". However, this view is controversial. According to historian Jan Markert, William independently recognized during the 1848 revolution that the Prussian monarchy would have to come to terms with a constitutional form of government.
Wehler, Hans-Ulrich, on the other hand, sees Augusta as the reason for William's later turn to the right-wing liberal
Wochenblattpartei. At the same time, the possibility of forcing a change of ruler was being considered in liberal circles. Augusta was brought into discussion as a possible regent for her underage son Frederick William. In contrast to Great Britain, Portugal and Spain, there was no tradition of reigning queens or regents in Prussia. Since King Frederick William IV also promised reforms, the plan was quickly rejected. Augusta subsequently destroyed some of her letters from the revolutionary years.
Koblenz years (1850–1858) Courtyard of the Wochenblattpartei, the Rheinanlagen, charity . In 1849, King Frederick William IV appointed Prince William military governor of the
Rhine Province and the
Province of Westphalia. From 1850 onwards, the prince moved to
Koblenz, the capital of the Prussian Rhine Province. In the
Electoral Palace there, Augusta had the opportunity to live a court life like she was accustomed to during her childhood at the
Weimar court. In Koblenz she was able to surround herself with a group of people she liked, establish contacts with the Rhineland bourgeoisie and maintain a less distant relationship with the local population. Their tolerance towards the Catholic denomination and charitable support contributed to this. Barclay characterizes her production as both "royal-dynastic" and "close to the people". Some of Augusta's confidants at the Koblenz court, often members of the
Wochenblattpartei, became ministers of state under Prince Regent William in the so-called
New Era. The reigning monarch and partly also Prince William disliked Augusta's comparatively liberal choice of guests. William did not always have influence on this, as he was often not in Koblenz Castle. In Koblenz, Augusta had a park with a promenade created on the left bank of the Rhine from 1856 onwards, the so-called
Rheinanlagen. Until then, there had only been a representative section of the bank directly at the Electoral Palace and on the
Rheinlache. In addition, she had the
Rheinanlagen upgraded with
pavilions and newly planted trees. For the first time, Augusta supported organizations on a larger scale that worked in the area of nursing or caring for the poor. These included, among others, the Catholic order of the
Brothers of Mercy in
Weitersburg and the
Kaiserswerther Diakonie. In 1850 she became
patron of the Evangelical Women's Association (
Evangelischen Frauenvereins), and two years later also of the Catholic Women's Association (
Katholischen Frauenvereins).
Marriage of children on 25 January 1858.
The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal by
John Phillip, 1860.
Royal Collection. Augusta is the third person from the left. Augusta initiated the marriage of her daughter Louise to
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, who was considered liberal, which took place in 1856. Two years later, she welcomed the marriage of her son Frederick William to
Victoria, the eldest daughter of the British Queen. Augusta herself had promoted the marriage and saw it as a means of leading Prussia away from what she saw as an autocratically ruled Russia in terms of alliance policy. Instead, it should move closer to Great Britain and France. According to
Monika Wienfort, Augusta's charitable support always remained in the area of "traditional monarchical charity". Augusta's commitment was intended to increase the social standing of her class. Like many women from the aristocracy and bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century, she did not intend to achieve emancipatory equality with men.
Wife of the Prince Regent (1858–1861): political influence and failure Because Frederick William IV was no longer considered fit to govern after several strokes, his brother was appointed
Prince Regent in 1858. In the fall of that year, Augusta returned with him to Berlin, but remained connected to Koblenz through frequent travel throughout her life. William appointed ministers who stood for a more liberal policy and many of whom had frequented the Koblenz court.
Alexander von Schleinitz, a confidant of Augusta, was given the Foreign Ministry. Augusta had been close friends with Schleinitz since the revolutionary period in 1848. Bismarck therefore speculated that his rival "only owes his career to petticoats". However, the historian Bastian Peiffer sees this as an insinuation and denies that Augusta was the actual founder of the new government. Birgit Aschmann sees contemporary names such as "Augusta Ministry" as conservative attempts to devalue the new political course. Augusta therefore sympathized with the newly formed ministry. Some of the ministers, like her, were convinced that aligning with Great Britain would also be advantageous domestically. According to the American historian
Otto Pflanze, she saw the government of the so-called New Era as "her ministry"; their dismissal was therefore a lasting insult for Augusta, which is why she opposed the later Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, regardless of whether he took a liberal or conservative course in politics. The comparatively liberal phase only lasted about three years. There were several reasons for this. On the one hand, the British
Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the most important operator of the Prussian-British connection, died in 1861. At the same time, conflicts between Augusta and her daughter-in-law Victoria increased. Augusta resented her influence on Frederick William. On the other hand, in the course of a reform of the Prussian army, William came into a fundamental conflict with the
Prussian House of Representatives. In view of a
Prussian constitutional conflict, he thought about
more conservative appointments in his government.
Queen of Prussia (1861–1888) Coronation and opposition to Bismarck based on a painting by
Franz Xaver Winterhalter, ca. 1864.
Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. with the Queen of Prussia in the gardens of
Frogmore House, circa 1867. ,
single-sheet print with the title "
Augusta, the Queen of Prussia in the Lazareth, 1870", according to the signature by an illustrator with the surname Kaiser, collection of the
Berlin State Library. In the middle of this state crisis, Frederick William IV died on 2 January 1861. Augusta became Queen consort of Prussia. Her coronation ceremony took place on 18 October of the same year in the Königsberg Palace Chapel. After William had placed the royal crown on himself, he then crowned his wife. Augusta was the second crowned queen in Prussian history; before her, only
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was granted such ceremony in Königsberg in 1701. During the escalating conflict between her husband and the House of Representatives, Augusta and William tried to talk out of
appointing Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister. She did not believe that he would have an integrating and conciliatory effect and expected him to further escalate the domestic political dispute. As she found in 1864, Bismarck was a "principled and careless person [...] who sometimes had to harbor doubts about the sanity of his words and deeds". Augusta already found Bismarck's appearance as envoy to the Frankfurt
Bundestag to be diplomatically unacceptable. With his undisguised great power ambitions, he always aroused mistrust among the Prussians towards friendly governments in the German Confederation. As late as Easter 1862, the queen warned her husband about Bismarck as a possible prime minister with an eighteen-page memorandum. William ignored her advice in September 1862. Crown Prince Frederick William commented on his decision with the words: "Poor Mama, how bitterly this [sic] appointment of her mortal enemy will hurt her". Bismarck, in turn, despised Augusta because of her influence on Wilhelm. He saw her actions as a violation of the boundaries of female freedom of action. From his perspective, female influence on the supposedly weak ruler had to be avoided. In addition to Augusta, he saw Crown Princess Victoria as a threat. While Bismarck attested to Augusta's sense of duty and noble behavior, he completely denied Victoria such qualities. From the perspective of Bismarck and his allies, Augusta belonged to an opposing political camp at court. The Bismarck party therefore also publicly polemicized against Augusta as the most prominent representative of the so-called English faction. In this way, their criticism of the government's reactionary and foreign policy course should be discredited. Despite Bismarck's appointment, Augusta continued to try to advise her husband. To this end, she intensified her contact with Franz von Roggenbach and often visited the former Baden Foreign Minister in Baden-Baden, where she stayed for a cure. Like Augusta, Roggenbach was a critic of Bismarck's politics. In consultation with Roggenbach, she formulated political memoranda to William I. Bismarck held Augusta responsible if the king did not follow his advice. In such cases she had
plotted against him at previous breakfasts with the king. According to Bismarck, his political opponents would form in Augusta's environment, including Crown Princess Victoria and the entire court faction that was hostile to him. In later years, Bismarck accused the queen of ruining his ability to hold office and his health with her intrigues.
Distanced attitude to militarism and the German war Augusta did support a national unification of Germany under Prussian rule. However, the Queen wanted to see unity achieved through peaceful means and condemned the three
German wars of unification in 1864, 1866 and 1870–1871.
Karin Feuerstein-Praßer therefore characterizes Augusta as a
pacifist. Birgit Aschmann puts this assessment into perspective by referring to
Queen Augusta's 4th Guard Grenadier Regiment, which was subordinate to her and which the monarch particularly supported. Nevertheless, Aschmann emphasizes that, unlike most liberal actors, Augusta did not show any patriotic enthusiasm even during the military victories. She maintained her critical attitude towards Bismarck's foreign policy. Especially in the run-up to the
Austro-Prussian War in 1866, she tried to use her correspondence to the various courts to mediate diplomatically and to avert military escalation. Augusta particularly feared an unfavorable course of the war against Austria. She argued that Prussia would benefit from the goodwill of
Napoleon III in a military confrontation. The Queen also turned to the British Queen Victoria with a request for mediation. From May 1866 onwards she gave up her diplomatic appeals. In the run-up to the war of 1866, Augusta Wilhelm again tried to convince Bismarck to be fired. Victoria, Frederick William and the Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick I, also advised the Prussian monarch to take such a step. However, William stuck by his Prime Minister.
Charitable activity Charitable welfare was considered a traditional area of activity for princesses in the 19th century. Many pictures show her with the organization's badge. Several hospitals were founded on her initiative; this includes the
Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, which still exists today and is the headquarters of the
German Society of Surgery. After the death of the surgeon
Bernhard von Langenbeck, Augusta lobbied the government and with its own financial subsidies to set up this society its own place of work. Augusta also took part in the organization of the
Order of Louise, which was newly founded in 1865. The award was given primarily to women who had excelled in caring for the wounded or raising funds for the affected soldiers. Augusta was able to ensure that Catholic women were also honored. She herself suggested many of those to be honored to the king. In 1866 she founded the
Vaterländischer Frauenverein, which looked after wounded and sick soldiers.
Criticism of the Kulturkampf The Empress's political relationship with Catholicism played a special role after 1871: Augusta, who, like the Emperor, belonged to the Protestant faith, saw
Ultramontanism, a political movement loyal to the Pope, as a detriment to the loyalty of the Catholic population since the 1850s. According to the historian Caroline Galm, Augusta therefore tried to "remedy integration deficits and reconcile the Catholics with the Protestant ruling dynasty". For example, in order to gain sympathy in predominantly Catholic southern Germany, Augusta recommended that her husband diplomatically advocate for the Pope's rights in October 1870. The background to this was the occupation of the previously independent
Papal States by troops of the
Kingdom of Italy. The Empress considered Bismarck's anti-Catholic policy in the
Kulturkampf to be the wrong approach. Although she also rejected the content of the
First Vatican Council of 1869, she believed that reconciliation could be achieved with moderate Catholic forces. In 1872 she sent William a specially written memorandum "on the ecclesiastical-political situation". In the document she called on him to "have a calming effect on the Catholic Church, to restore the lost trust and to mitigate the harshness of the contradictions as much as possible". Augusta appealed to the authorities and Emperor several times on behalf of the Catholic population. In 1872, for example, she campaigned for
Philipp Krementz to remain in office as
Bishop of Warmia. The cultural scientist Andrea Micke-Serin attributes a softening of the
Congregations Law of 1875 to Augusta's influence. Although the law continued to provide for the closure of Catholic monastic orders in Prussia, it excluded pure
nursing orders from this.
Climax of the conflict with Bismarck In 1877, Bismarck asked the Emperor to dismiss him, ostensibly because of the ongoing conflicts with Augusta and those around him. After William granted him a vacation of several weeks, Bismarck pushed several press articles in which he primarily blamed the Empress for his plans to resign. As Bismarck biographer Christoph Nonn summarizes, the Imperial Chancellor competed with several players at court for influence over the monarch. The Queen and Empress would have a special role to play here. As he himself complained, Bismarck had to constantly work against their influence on the monarch. The American historian
Jonathan Steinberg explains Bismarck's enmity with psychological childhood trauma. Under a domineering and cold-hearted mother, he developed a strong
contempt for women and felt threatened by women who dominated their weak husbands. Augusta, who appeared self-confident towards William, fit into Bismarck's image of the enemy. At the same time, Steinberg sees the Empress as a favorable factor for Bismarck's political position in the Empire. The conflict with Augusta made the Emperor more lenient and increased his willingness to give in to the political demands of his chancellor.
Approaching the Reich Chancellor Since the
Catholic Center Party gained votes in the
Reichstag elections of 1878, Bismarck was forced to end the Kulturkampf. Augusta considered this a personal success against Bismarck. Shortly afterwards the Empress began to approach Bismarck. The reason for this was, on the one hand, their respect for his foreign policy achievements at the
Congress of Berlin. Augusta now described the Imperial Chancellor as a "brilliant statesman". In Bismarck's spirit, it encouraged William to enter into a
dual alliance with Austria without Russia. On the other hand, she now considered Bismarck to be the right man to prepare her grandson, the future
German Emperor William II, for his government work. According to Augusta biographer
Karin Feuerstein-Praßer, Augusta's approach to Bismarck had less to do with his politics than with tensions within the family. Like the Imperial Chancellor, she considered her son Frederick William to be less suitable as a future ruler than Prince William. She denied the Crown Prince the intellectual abilities and political determination required for the imperial office. Augusta and Bismarck were particularly bothered by the fact that Victoria was diminishing her own influence over Frederick William. Both therefore placed their political expectations on Prince William. Since he was not on good terms with his mother Victoria, the prince also became closer to his grandmother and his aunt Louise after his studies.
Annual travel and political involvement in the last years of life Augusta often stayed away from the Berlin court. She only spent about half the year in Berlin. In May she usually traveled to
Baden-Baden for a
cure. This was followed by a stay in Koblenz in June, where she pursued charitable and social tasks. From there she occasionally visited her daughter Louise in the Baden residential city of
Karlsruhe or took a spa treatment in
Bad Ems, where her husband also traveled. In the fall, Augusta stayed again in Baden-Baden or on the Lake Constance island of
Mainau. She spent the winter season in Berlin from November to April. The Empress herself increasingly suffered from physical ailments (including
rheumatism) for many years and sustained serious injuries in a fall in Koblenz in June 1881. From then on she was dependent on
crutches and a
wheelchair. Nevertheless, Augusta tried to continue to participate politically and also to fulfill her
patronage of the Catholic population. To this end, she relied, among other things, on financial support. When her husband died on 9 March 1888, Augusta was personally present in the
Old Palace. Only 99 days later, on 15 June, her son, who had succeeded to the throne as Frederick III, succumbed to
cancer of the larynx. As a result, her beloved grandson, William II, become King of Prussia and German Emperor.
Death and legacy Augusta died on 7 January 1890, aged 78, at the
Old Palace during the
1889–1890 flu pandemic. She was initially
lying in state for the public at the Old Palace on
Unter den Linden boulevard in
Mitte, the historic heart and
city center of
Berlin, and later buried at the
Mausoleum at
Charlottenburg Palace beside her husband. In accordance with her will, the
Augusta Fund, other charitable institutions (particularly in Berlin and Koblenz) and the Koblenz
Rheinanlagen received financial donations. ==Reception==