Catherine of Württemberg
Friederike Katharina Sophie Dorothea von Württemberg , alternative spelling Katharine Sophie Friederike Dorothee von Württemberg , (* February 21, 1783 in Saint Petersburg ; † November 28, 1835 in Lausanne ) was married to Napoléon Bonaparte 's youngest brother, Jérôme Bonaparte , and was so from 1807 to 1813 Queen of Westphalia .
Life
Katharina was the daughter of the later first King of Württemberg , Friedrich I , and his first wife, Princess Auguste Karoline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel . After their parents separated in 1788, Katharina's father took her and her siblings to live with him. Katharina was first raised by her grandmother. In 1797 Katharina received the British Princess Charlotte Auguste Mathilde , a daughter of King George III. , to the stepmother. Charlotte Auguste Mathilde got on very well with Katharina, whose upbringing she took on.
Katharina's father, Friedrich, sided with Napoléon Bonaparte in 1803 . As a result, Württemberg was able to expand considerably and was elevated to a kingdom in 1806 . In order to further strengthen the bond between Württemberg and Napoléon, Katharina married Napoleon's brother, Jérôme Bonaparte , on August 22, 1807 in Fontainebleau Castle near Paris , who had been king of the Kingdom of Westphalia created especially for him since July 1807 . Katharina was his second wife. Napoléon had his marriage to his first wife, Elizabeth Patterson , annulled, and Jérôme had to enter into the politically motivated marriage to Katharina. Despite this history, Jérôme's many escapades and numerous lovers, Katharina stuck to her husband until the end of her life.
After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig in 1813, the Kingdom of Westphalia dissolved. Katharina accompanied Jérôme on the escape to France in exile. After Napoléon's defeat, Katharina's father expected that, like Napoléon's second wife Marie Louise , she would separate from her husband. But Katharina insisted on staying with her husband. She traveled with him from France to Austria, via Graz to Trieste , where Jérôme acquired the Villa Necker and settled with it. Their first son, Jerôme Napoléon , was born here in 1814 .
When Napoléon's rule of the Hundred Days dawned, Jérôme fled Austria with the help of Katharina and joined his brother. Katharina was placed under arrest by the Austrian Emperor Franz I. Reluctantly, she returned to her family in Württemberg, where she was housed in Göppingen Castle in March 1815 . Her father had her correspondence checked and Katharina could only move around under guard. After the defeat of Waterloo , Jérôme also arrived there in August 1815. Because Göppingen Castle could not be adequately guarded, the couple had to move to the prison-like castle of Ellwangen . The strict surveillance led to the fact that they finally accepted Prince Metternich's offer and returned to Austria. Previously Jérôme received from his father Frederick I nor the title Prince of Montfort .
From then on Katharina lived with her husband in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. The daughter Mathilde was born in Trieste in 1820 and another son, Napoléon Joseph , in 1822 .
Katharina died on November 28, 1835 at the age of 52 in the Villa Mon Repos in Lausanne .
progeny
There are three children from Katharina's marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte :
- Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte (1814–1847), Prince of Montfort and Colonel of Württemberg
- Mathilde Bonaparte (1820–1904), Princess of Montfort
- Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte (1822-1891), known as Prince Napoléon or Plon-Plon . He is the ancestor of today's Bonapartist pretender to the throne, Charles Napoléon Bonaparte .
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Hermann Wagener: State and society lexicon: new conversation lexicon: in connection with German scholars and statesmen . Vol. 4. F. Heinicke, Berlin 1860 ( full text in the Google book search).
literature
- Note extraite du Journal de SM la rein de Westphalie , Paris 1844
- Mémoires et correspondance du roi Jérôme et de la reine Catherine , 7 volumes, Paris 1861–1866
- Correspondence between Queen Katharina and King Jérome von Westphalen as well as Emperor Napoleon I and King Friedrich von Württemberg , ed. by August von Schlossberger, 3 volumes, Stuttgart 1886–1887 (digitized volume 1 , volume 2 , volume 3 )
- Correspondance inédite de la reine Catherine de Westphalie née Princesse de Wurtemberg avec sa famille et celle du Roi Jérôme, les souverains étrangers et divers personnages , ed. by Albert Du Casse, Paris 1893
- La pure Cathérine de Westphalie. Son journal et sa correspondance , ed. by Albert Du Casse, in: Revue Historique , Vol. 12 (1887), Volume 35, pp. 323-335; Vol. 37, pp. 79-99, Vol. 38, pp. 89-111 and 346-365; Vol. (1888); Jg. 14 (1889), vol. 39, pp. 76-90; Vol. 17 (1892), Vol. 49, pp. 58-69 and 322-342
- Comtesse Anna Potocka. Voyage d'Italie (1826-1827). Lettres inédites de Caroline, Reine de Naples, de Catherine, reine de Westphalie etc. , ed. by Casimir Stryienski, Paris 1899
- Gertrude Kircheisen, Napoleon and his family , Volume 1, The mother, Joseph and Julie, Lucien us his two wives, Louis and Hortense, Jerome, Elizabeth Patterson and Catherine of Wurttemberg , Munich 1914
- Uta Keppler, madness and dignity. The life of Katharina von Württemberg at the side of Jérôme Bonaparte. A biographical novel , Tübingen 1979
- Uta Keppler, “For me there was only Jérôme.” Katharina von Württemberg and Jérôme Bonaparte. A biographical novel , Irdning / Steiermark 1985
- Sabine Köttelwesch, Katharina von Westphalen (1783–1835) , in: Helmut Burmeister and Veronika Jäger (eds.), King Jérôme and the Reformed State of Westphalia , Hofgeismar 2006, pp. 73–94, ISSN 0440-7520
- Sabine Köttelwesch, York-Egbert König : "I am completely happy, I like it immensely." Katharina von Westphalen. Wife of Jérôme Bonaparte and Queen in Kassel , Gudensberg-Gleichen 2008
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| --- |
Queen of Westphalia 1807–1813 |
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Catherine of Württemberg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Katharina von Westphalen; Friederike Katharina Sophie Dorothea von Württemberg; Katharine Sophie Friederike Dorothee von Württemberg; Katharine von Württemberg; Katharine von Westphalen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Queen of Westphalia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 21, 1783 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Petersburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 28, 1835 |
| Place of death | Lausanne |