Sophia Charlotte von Platen-Hallermund

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Sophia Charlotte von Platen-Hallermund, Countess of Darlington

Countess Sophia Charlotte von Platen-Hallermund , later Baroness von Kielmansegg, Countess of Leinster and Darlington (born  April 10, 1675 in Osnabrück , † April 20, 1725 in London ) was a German-British noblewoman and the half-sister of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and later British king, George I.

Life

Sophia Charlotte was the illegitimate daughter of Elector Ernst August von Hanover (1629–1698) and his mistress for many years, Countess Clara Elisabeth von Platen (1648–1700), who was the mastermind in the " Königsmarck Affair ". Her husband Franz Ernst von Platen-Hallermund (1631–1709) was officially regarded as the father.

In 1701, Countess Sophie Charlotte married Baron Johann Adolph von Kielmansegg (1668–1717) in Hanover . The marriage resulted in two children, Charlotte (1703–1782) and Georg Ludwig (1705–1785).

Sophie Charlotte had a close relationship with her half-brother Georg Ludwig and her husband was the duke's chief stableman. Thanks to Georg Ludwig's favor, she acquired the site of what would later become the Welfengarten . On their behalf, the French architect Louis Remy de la Fosse designed Monbrillant Castle in 1713 , which was built between 1717 and 1720 by Johann Christian Böhme as a summer residence on the Puttenser Mountains .

Queen Anne died in 1714 , and under the Act of Union 1707 , Duke George Ludwig became George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland. Sophia Charlotte followed him with her family and his mistress, Countess Melusine von der Schulenburg (1663–1747), to London. The baroness mingled with the British courtiers, whom she regarded as the new king's mistress, and competed with the actual mistress. The Crown Prince couple, Caroline and Georg August , rejected both women. She successfully speculated with the Südsee-Fond and made a considerable fortune. In 1721 she was given the Irish peer title Countess of Leinster and a year later the British peer title Countess of Darlington and the subordinate title Baroness of Brentford . The three titles, however, were not inheritable.

The Countess died on April 20, 1725 at her home on James Street and was buried in Westminster Abbey .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Platen-Hallermund, Sophia Charlotte von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baroness Sophie Charlotte von Kielmansegg, Countess of Leinster and Darlington
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-British noblewoman and half-sister of the British King George I.
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1675
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 1725
Place of death London