Amalie Sophie von Wallmoden
.JPG)
Amalie Sophie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth , born Amalie Sophie Marianne von Wendt (born April 1, 1704 in Hanover ; † October 19, 1765 ibid) was a German noblewoman and mistress of the British King George II.
Life
Amalie Sophie was the youngest daughter of Johann Franz von Wendt (1678–1740) and his wife Friederike Charlotte (1686–1752), the youngest daughter of Johann von dem Bussche and Katharina Maria von Meissenburg. Her grandmother was the first mistress of the future King George I , and her great-aunt Clara Elisabeth von Platen was that of his father, Elector Ernst August von Braunschweig-Lüneburg , and the mastermind in the Königsmarck affair . The correspondence between her father and Prince Ernst August, Duke of York and Albany , was interpreted as evidence of a homosexual relationship. In 1727, Amalie Sophie married Count Adam Gottlieb von Wallmoden (1704–1752), son of Count Ludwig Achaz von Wallmoden and Anna Elisabeth von Helmburg. The marriage resulted in two children, Franz Ernst (1728–1776) and Friederike (1729–1800).
During a trip to Hanover in 1735, King George II (1683–1760) met Countess Amalie Sophie von Wallmoden and fell head over heels in love with her. She was married, but in return for a payment of 1,000 ducats, her husband was prepared to postpone his claims. The King kept his wife, Queen Caroline (1683–1737), informed of all the details of his young affair in letters of forty or more pages, and asked both her and Robert Walpole for advice on how to behave. When the king returned to London after a hasty trip , he was in a very bad mood. This was partly due to the fact that he suffered from hemorrhoids and partly to his separation from Countess Wallmoden.
The following year he traveled to the continent again. Time passed without the king being able to tear himself away from Countess Wallmoden, who bore him a son that year, the future Hanoverian Field Marshal Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn (1736-1811). Through his long absence he had managed to unite the nation against himself. Even the queen was at the end of her patience. In order to persuade George II to return, Caroline accepted Walpole's recommendation and wrote her husband to bring his mistress with him. Georg was deeply moved by this offer, but he considered it advisable not to make use of it. At the beginning of December 1736 he went back to England .
Queen Caroline died on November 20, 1737 after a long illness. It is said that she asked her husband to remarry before her death. Georg is said to have replied: “Non, j'aurai des maitresses!” ( French : “No, I will have mistresses!”). The Prime Minister , Robert Walpole, called for the Countess von Wallmoden to be brought from Hanover. In the meantime, Lady Mary Scott, Countess of Deloraine , a courtesan with whom Georg had a casual relationship, might act as a stopgap until Amalie Sophie von Wallmoden arrived in England to take on the role of permanent mistress intended for her. She acted with the desired discretion and gave no cause for complaint, apart from the fact that, even on March 24, 1740 as Life Peeress to Countess of Yarmouth and Baroness Yarmouth , she soon began to sell nobility titles. Lady Yarmouth did not let George forget his late wife, but she played a bigger role in his life than his previous mistresses, including Lady Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk . The older and more frail the king became, the more she assumed the role of mediator between him and the ministers. Lady Yarmouth, who lived in St James's Palace and Kensington Palace , was granted British citizenship and was divorced from her husband, who was awarded an annual pension of £ 4,000. After the death of King George II, she received an annuity of £ 10,000 and continued to live in England. She later returned to Hanover, where she died of breast cancer on October 19, 1765 .
literature
- Mijndert Bertram: Georg II. - King and Elector , MatrixMedia Verlag Göttingen (2004) ISBN 3-932313-07-0
- Marita A. Panzer: England's Queens - From the Tudors to the Windsors , Piper (2006) ISBN 3-492-23682-0
Web links
- Amalia Sophia Marianne Countess von Walmoden on thepeerage.com , accessed on September 10, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wallmoden, Amalie Sophie von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wendt, Amalie Sophie Marianne von (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mistress of King George II of Great Britain, Countess of Yarmouth |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 1, 1704 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hanover |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 19, 1765 |
| Place of death | Hanover |