- Henriette Mendel
Henriette Mendel, Baroness von Wallersee (
July 31 ,1833 –November 12 ,1891 ) was a German actress, and the mistress and, later, morganatic wife ofLudwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria . By him she was the mother ofCountess Marie Larisch von Moennich .Born Auguste Henriette Mendel in
Darmstadt , Hesse-Darmstadt, she was the daughter of Adam Mendel and of Anna Sophie Müller. In English she is usually known as Henrietta Mendel.She was an actress at Darmstadt's "Großherzoglich Hessischem Hoftheater" when she and
Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria fell in love. As aDuke in Bavaria ("Herzog in Bayern",) Ludwig was a high ranking member ofBavaria 's Royal House ofWittelsbach . He was a nephew ofMaximilian II of Bavaria (and thus a cousin of the future "Mad King"Ludwig II of Bavaria .) He was also a cousin of EmperorFranz Joseph I of Austria . Ludwig's younger sister Elisabeth was even married to Franz Joseph.The couple had an illegitimate daughter, Marie Louise, born on
February 24 ,1858 . Marie would later became famous under her married name,Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich .When Henriette became pregnant a second time, a
morganatic marriage was arranged. Ludwig renounced succession rights to the Bavarian throne onMarch 9 ,1859 . The couple's son Karl Emanuel was born onMay 9 ,1859 , Henriette was created Freifrau von Wallersee onMay 19 ,1859 , and the marriage occurred onMay 28 ,1859 inAugsburg , Bavaria, at which time her children became Freiin and Freiherr von Wallersee.Karl Emanuel only survived a few months, dying on
August 1 ,1859 . The couple had no more children.The baroness died
November 12 ,1891 inMunich , Bavaria ofstomach cancer . One year later, her widower, Duke Ludwig, married Barbara Antonie Barth, who had been created Frau von Bartolf, onNovember 19 ,1892 .Further reading
* Countess Marie Larisch, "My Past", G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York & London, 1913. Ghostwritten by Maude Mary Chester ffoulkes
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