Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, later Queen of Prussia and Empress of Germany (1811-1890)
Artist: Anton Hähnisch (Austrian, 1817-1897)
Date: 1861
Medium: Watercolour on ivory laid on card
Collection: Royal Collection Trust, London, United Kingdom
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1811 - 1890) was Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the wife of William I, German Emperor.
A member of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and closely related to the Russian Imperial House of Romanov through her mother Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, in June 1829, Augusta married Prince William of Prussia. The marriage was tense; Wilhelm actually wanted to marry his cousin, Elisa Radziwiłł, who was judged to be unsuitable by the Prussian court, and the political views and intellectual interests of the two spouses were also far apart. Despite personal differences, Augusta and William often worked together to handle correspondence and social gatherings at court. In 1831 and 1838, they had two children, Frederick William and Louise. After the death of her father-in-law King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1840, Augusta became the wife of the heir presumptive to the Prussian throne.


















