Marie of Prussia

For other uses, see Marie of Prussia (disambiguation).

Marie of Prussia
File:Marie, Königin von Bayern.jpg
Queen consort of Bavaria
Tenure	28 March 1848 – 10 March 1864
Born	(1825-10-15)15 October 1825 Berlin City Palace, Prussia
Died	Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria
Burial	Theatine Church
Spouse	Maximilian II of Bavaria
Issue	Ludwig II Otto I
House	House of Hohenzollern
Father	Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Mother	Princess Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg
Religion	Evangelical Christian Church, later Roman Catholicism

Marie of Prussia (German: Marie Friederike Franziska Hedwig von Preußen; October 15, 1825 – May 17, 1889) was Queen of Bavaria and the mother of Kings Ludwig II and Otto of Bavaria.

Life

Born and raised in Berlin, she was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, a younger brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, and his wife Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. As a young woman, Marie was seriously considered as a wife for Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, until her engagement to Maximilian was announced.

Marriage

On 12 October 1842, she married the Crown Prince, and later King of Bavaria, Maximilian II.

Marie was loved equally by both the Protestants and Roman Catholic populations. (At that time, Prussia was mostly Evangelical, whilst Bavaria was mostly Roman Catholic.) A specific emphasis of her "great social engagement" was a reactivation of the Bavarian Women's Association, which took place on 18 December 1869 with the aid of her son, Ludwig II. Its aim was "Pflege und Unterstützung der im Felde verwundeten und erkrankten Krieger" (Care and support of soldiers wounded and injured in the field). The Bavarian Red Cross was officially founded as a result of the Bavarian Women's Association. The Red Cross eventually took over for the Queen.

With the sudden death of Maximilian II on 10 March 1864, Marie became a widow. On 12 October 1874, she converted to Roman Catholicism.

In later years, she lived a secluded existence at her country estate in Elbigenalp in the Lechtal Alps and at Schloss Hohenschwangau near Füssen. Marie outlived her elder son, Ludwig II, by several years. He died on 13 June 1886. Marie died in 1889 in Hohenschwangau.

She is interred in the Theatine Church in Munich in a side chapel opposite her husband.

Issue

• Ludwig II of Bavaria (25 August 1845 - 13 June 1886); succeeded as King of Bavaria as Ludwig II. Declared mentally incompetent without examination and deposed in a coup in favour of his uncle, Prince Luitpold, on 10 June 1886;died under disputed circumstances.

• Otto I of Bavaria (27 April 1848 - 11 October 1916); succeeded as King of Bavaria as Otto I, but never reigned due to the regentship of his uncle, Prince Luitpold. Declared mentally incompetent and deposed on 5 November 1913 by his cousin Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig III of Bavaria.

Honours

National Honours

• Kingdom of Bavaria : Sovereign of the Order of Saint Elizabeth (feminine order)

Foreign Honours

• Kingdom of Prussia : Dame of the Order of Louise (feminine order)
• Spain : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa (feminine order)

Ancestry

Family of Marie of Prussia

16. Frederick William I of Prussia               8. Prince Augustus William of Prussia                       17. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover               4. Frederick William II of Prussia                             18. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               9. Duchess Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                       19. Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               2. Prince Wilhelm of Prussia                                   20. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               10. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       21. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg-Müntzenberg               5. Princess Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt                             22. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken               11. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken                       23. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken               1. Marie of Prussia                                         24. Landgrave Kasimir of Hesse-Homburg               12. Frederick IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg                       25. Countess Christine of Solms-Braunfels               6. Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg                             26. Frederick William I, Prince of Solms-Braunfels               13. Princess Ulrica of Solms-Braunfels                       27. Countess Sophia of Solms-Utphe-Laubach               3. Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg                                   28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 20)               14. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 10)                       29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg-Müntzenberg (= 21)               7. Princess Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt                             30. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (= 22)               15. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken (= 11)                       31. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (= 23)

References

This article was translated from the article on the German Wikipedia on December 21, 2005.

Marie of Prussia House of Hohenzollern Born: 15 October 1825 Died: 17 May 1889
German royalty
Preceded by Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen	Queen consort of Bavaria 28 March 1848 – 10 March 1864	Vacant Title next held by Maria Theresa of Austria-Este