German princess who married into the Prussian royal family and was a patron of the arts, particularly music and theater. She was also a strong supporter of women's education and social welfare.
Known for her high-profile marriages to a son of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a baron, Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt lived a life marked by royal connections and personal turmoil. Born on June 10, 1898, in Ballenstedt, Anhalt, Germany, she was the daughter of Eduard, Duke of Anhalt, and his wife, Princess Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg.
Marie Auguste was raised in Dessau, the capital of the duchy of Anhalt, surrounded by her five siblings. Tragedy struck early, as her elder sister Friederike and brother Leopold passed away in infancy. She was the elder sister of Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt, and her paternal grandparents were Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt, and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen.
On March 11, 1916, Marie Auguste married Prince Joachim of Prussia, the youngest son of German Emperor Wilhelm II, in Berlin. The lavish wedding ceremony was held at Bellevue Palace, attended by Joachim's parents, Empress Augusta Viktoria, and other prominent relatives. The couple had one son, Prince Karl Franz Josef Wilhelm Friedrich Eduard Paul, born on December 15, 1916, in Potsdam. However, their marriage was short-lived, and they divorced soon after World War I, with the exact reasons for the divorce remaining unclear to the public.
Marie Auguste's second marriage was to a baron, although the details of this union are sparse. Despite her tumultuous personal life, she continued to be involved in royal circles, her grandson, Prince Franz Wilhelm, marrying Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, a pretender to the Imperial Russian throne.
Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt's life was marked by her connections to the German and Russian royal families. Her marriages, though tumultuous, added to the intricate web of royal relationships in Europe during the early 20th century. While her personal life was marked by turmoil, her legacy lies in her role as a symbol of the complexities of royal life during a time of great change and upheaval.
Born in 1819
The monarch who ruled the British Empire for 63 years, overseeing the Industrial Revolution and expanding the empire's reach, earning the nickname "the Grandmother of Europe".
Born in 1885
The mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was a Greek princess who married into the British royal family and overcame personal struggles, including deafness and mental health issues, to become a respected humanitarian. She's known for her bravery during World War II, hiding a Jewish family in her home in Athens.
