Maria Augusta Thurn-i-Taxis

Maria Augusta is the daughter of Prince Anselm Franz Thurn-i-Taxis and his wife Maria Lobkowitz. She was brought up in Spain and the Austrian Netherlands until she was eighteen, but over time the family moved to Frankfurt , where her family’s wealth was concentrated.

The princess was chosen as a wife to the Duke of Karl Alexander Württemberg-Vinental , who in 1733 became the Duke of Württemberg. The wedding took place on May 1, 1727 in Frankfurt . At the time of the wedding, the bride was 21 years old, the groom - 42. Six children were born in the marriage. The husband of Maria Augusta died unexpectedly on March 12, 1737 while visiting a military garrison in Württemberg . This meant that their nine-year-old son, Karl Eugene, became the new Duke of Württemberg. With great difficulty, on August 5, 1737, the regent under the new duke was Maria Augusta, who took on the responsibility to monitor the formation of her son.

Since 1739, she began an affair with a young military captain. The rumor about the possible pregnancy of the Duchess-Regent became so widespread that the Württemberg Privy Council began an investigation. The captain was fired from the service. Mary herself was forbidden to enter the duchy for five months (from April 1740). At this time, she lived in Brussels. During her regency, the princess refused a catastrophic alliance for Württemberg with Prussia in the War of Austrian Succession .

By 1744, Maria Augusta again began to significantly influence the policy of the duchy. On her orders, the two eldest sons went to serve in the Prussian army, earning good income. In 1748, she proposed that her eldest son marry Princess Elizabeth Frederick Sophia of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , niece of King Frederick the Great . The marriage took place in the same year.

Both eldest sons of Maria Augusta had no children. For this reason, the subsequent dukes, and then the kings of Württemberg, come from the youngest son of the ducal couple, Duke Friedrich Eugene . One of the daughters of Frederick was the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna - the granddaughter of Maria Augusta.

Princess Maria Augusta was famous for her beauty. Nevertheless, she was often criticized for the lack of common sense in resolving many issues relating to the duchy. In high society, she always emphasized that she was the mistress and duchess of the Württemberg land. Many of the duchess's contemporaries compared her to the French Queen Marie Antoinette for her manners and desire to spend money on balls, expensive dresses, and jewelry. For example, in her wardrobe there were about 500 dresses, the most expensive of which cost about 500 florins . This amounted to the salary of an ordinary servant for 30 years of service.

Despite this, the duchess had a huge library at her disposal, she actively corresponded with Voltaire , and was also a friend of the philosopher Marquis d'Arzhan .

In a marriage with Duke Karl Alexander, Maria Augusta was born:

• Karl Eugene (1728-1793), Duke of Württemberg in 1737-1793
• Eugene Ludwig (1729)
• Ludwig Eugene (1731–1795), Duke of Württemberg in 1793–1795
• Friedrich Eugene (1732–1797), Duke of Württemberg in 1795–1797
• Alexander Eugene (1733-1734)
• Augustus Elizabeth (1734-1787), married Karl Anselm , 4th Prince of Thurn-i-Taxis.

• On August 30, 1745, Maria Augusta was awarded the Order of St. Catherine of the 1st degree, transferred to her from the guard by captain Dmitry Golitsyn ^[2] .

• August 11, 1706 - May 1, 1727 : Her Grace Princess Thurn-i-Taxis
• May 1, 1727 - March 12, 1737 : Her Highness the Duchess of Württemberg
• March 12, 1737 - February 1, 1756 : Her Highness the Dowager Duchess of Württemberg

• Lundy, Darryl The Peerage: Marie-Auguste Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis (Neopr.) . Date of treatment December 15, 2009. Archived on May 26, 2012.
• Wilson, Peter H. (2004). "Women and Imperial Politics: The Württemberg Consorts 1674-1757" in Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort . Clarissa Campbell Orr (ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81422-7 .