As it was, it took the influence of her sister, the Austrian empress, to persuade him to change his mind and grant consent to a match he had been hesitant to approve. Their mother, Princess Ludovika, wrote to Elisabeth, urging her to intervene to her husband on behalf of her older sister (who, as is common knowledge, had been the originally intended bride of the emperor). The imperial couple complied, with Franz Joseph writing to the Bavarian king, putting in a good word for the mediatized house.
So the young lady Prince Charming (i.e. the Habsburg emperor) passed over in favor of her younger sister ended up getting the better bargain, in the end, since Helene turned out to be the only daughter of her parents to enjoy a personally happy marriage. Fortunately, they blessed the union from the beginning (in fact, they were the ones who introduced the couple to each other, after the failed engagement with Franz Joseph). If nothing else, the groom was extremely rich, and the bride got to stay in her native land.
So much for the expression "consolation prize" ... Previous Message
Max's aunt Sophia married (1827) Duke Friedrich of Wurttemberg.
His grand-father Karl-Alexander married (1789) Dss Therese of Mecklenburg
His gr.grand-father Karl-Anselm married (1753) Dss Auguste von Wurttenberg Previous Message
When was the last time, before the marriage in 1858 of Hereditary Prince Maximilian and Duchess Helene in Bavaria (older sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria) that a member of this mediatized house (listed in the second tier of the Almanach de Gotha) contracted a dynastic union with a member of a royal or reigning house (listed in the first tier of the said Almanach)?
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