Princess Gertrude of Hanau and Hořowitz (née Falkenstein; 18 May 1803 – 9 July 1882), was a German aristocrat. She was the morganatic spouse of Frederick William, Elector of Hesse.

Gertrude Falkenstein
Princess of Hanau and Hořowitz
Born(1803-05-18)18 May 1803
Bonn, Rhineland, Prussia
Died9 July 1882(1882-07-09) (aged 79)
Prague, Bohemia, Cisleithania, Austria-Hungary
SpouseFrederick William, Elector of Hesse
(m. 1831, died 1875)
IssuePrincess Augusta of Hanau and Hořowitz
Princess Alexandrine of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Moritz of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Wilhelm of Hanau and Hořowitz
Princess Maria of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Karl of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Heinrich of Hanau and Hořowitz
Prince Philipp of Hanau and Hořowitz
FatherGottfried Falkenstein
MotherMarie Magdalene Schulz

Biography

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Gertrude Falkenstein was the daughter of an apothecary from Bonn. She was the divorced (ca. 1830/31) wife of Prussian Oberleutnant Karl Michael Lehmann[1] (16 June 1787, Bischofswerder – 1882) and had two sons by him, who were given the name "von Hertingshausen" in 1835, and then "von Scholley" in 1837, and were created Barons (Freiherren) von Scholley in 1846.[1]

Elector William II made her Countess of Schaumburg (with the style of Illustrious Highness), upon her Catholic conversion to the Reformed faith and her marriage on 26 June 1831 with Frederick William, and her then-husband (last Prince-Elector from 1847 to 1866) made her Princess (Fürstin) of Hanau and to Hořowitz in 1853 (with the style of Serene Highness in 1862).

Gertrud and Frederick William had nine children, some born before marriage, who were also made count/esse/s (Grafen) of Schaumburg with the style of Illustrious Highness, then prince/sse/s (Prinzen) of Hanau in 1853 and granted the style of Serene Highness in 1862:[2]

Gertrud von Hanau was given several titles, which her children could inherit, but her irregular status[3] barred her children from inheriting full entitlement and recognition of their princely rights by the brotherly Grand Duchy of Hesse (still-reigning and not annexed like the Electorate of Hesse following the Austro-Prussian War). Most courts refused to grant her the courtesies afforded those of noble birth, a situation which put some stress on her marriage and led to an isolation of the court.

In 1867, Gertrude von Hanau, her husband and their six sons left the former Electorate of Hesse-Cassel and went in exile at Hořowitz Castle, in Bohemia where the princely title of Hanau was recognized by the Austrian imperial authorities since March 1855. The deposed Elector Frederick William died on 6 January 1875 and bequeathed his immense fortune to her, his widow, and to their children.

Gertrude von Hanau died in Prague on 9 July 1882, at the age of 79.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Austro-Hungarian Army – Otto Freiherr von Scholley".
  2. ^ a b c d Almanach de Gotha (Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1942), pages 431–432
  3. ^ Her irregular status resulted from the conditions of her divorce with Lt Lehmann, who might have been constrained by Prince Frederick William (which caused a scandal), predated by the out-of-wedlock/adulterous births of her daughters, Augusta (von Schaumburg/Hanau) in 1829 and Alexandrine (von Schaumburg/Hanau) in 1830.

General sources

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  • Philipp Losch: Die Fürstin von Hanau und ihre Kinder. In: Hanauer Geschichtsblätter 13 (1939), S. 28–38.