- Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (
3 April ,1831 ,Kleinheubach , nearMiltenberg -16 December ,1909 ,Ryde ,Isle of Wight ) was the wife ofMiguel of Portugal but only following his deposition. As a widow, Adelaide secured advantageous marriages for their six daughters.Family
She was a daughter of
Constantine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1802 - 1838) and Marie Agness Henriette ofHohenlohe-Langenburg .Her paternal grandparents were
Karl Thomas, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1783 - 1849) and his wife Sophie ofWindisch-Graetz . Her maternal grandparents wereCharles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Amalia, Countess of Solms-Baruth.Karl Thomas was the eldest son of
Dominic Constantine, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1762 - 1814) and his first wife Marie Leopoldine ofHohenlohe-Bartenstein . His father had inherited the title "Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort" in 1780 but modified it to "Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg" in 1789.Dominic Constantine was the eldest son of
Theodore Alexander, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1722 - 1780) and his wife Katharine Luise Elenore, Countess of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg.Theodore Alexander was a son of
Dominic Marquard, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1690 - 1735) and his wife Christina of Hesse-Wanfried. Christina was a daughter ofKarl, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried . Karl was the secondson ofErnest, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels .Dominic Marquard was a son of
Maximilian Karl Albert, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1656 - 1718) and his wife Polyxena Maria, Countess Lichtenberg and Belasi. His father had served as governor ofMilan , representingCharles VI, Holy Roman Emperor until his own death.Maximilian was a son of
Ferdinand Karl, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1616 - 1672) and his wife Anna Maria, Countess of Fürstenberg.Ferdinand Karl was a son of
Johann Dietrich, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1585 - 1644) and his first wife Josina of the Marck.Johann Dietrich was a younger son of
Louis III, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim (1530 - 1611) and his wife Anna, Countess of Stolberg. His father had served as governor of Styria, Carinthia andCarniola , representing rulers of the House ofHabsburg .Louis was a younger son of
Frederick I, Count of Löwenstein (1502 - 1541) and his wife Helene of Königsegg.Frederick was a son of
Louis I, Count of Löwenstein and his first wife Elisabeth of Montfort.Louis was a son of
Frederick I, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his morganatic wife Klara Tott. Children from this marriage had no right to the throne of the Palatinate but represented a secondary line of theWittelsbach Marriage
On
24 September ,1851 , Adelaide marriedMiguel of Portugal . The bride was twenty years old while the groom was almost forty-nine.Miguel had at first served as Regent in Portugal for his niece and betrothed
Mary II of Portugal but had taken the throne for himself on23 June ,1828 . He was an avid conservative and admirer ofKlemens Wenzel von Metternich . He had invalidated theConstitution of Portugal and tried to rule according to the concept ofabsolute monarchy . This resulted in the so-calledLiberal Wars (1828 - 1834), actually a prolongedcivil war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists.The war had ended with the deposition of Miguel who renounced all claims to the throne of Portugal in exchange for an annual pension. He was forced into a lifelong exile. While he remained the senior male member of the Portuguese line of the
House of Braganza , his rights of succession were never restored. On15 January ,1837 , his support ofInfante Carlos, Count of Molina , the first Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, resulted in the removal of his own rights to said throne.While Adelaide married into royalty, her husband being a controversial figure for the entire
Iberian Peninsula and a symbol of absolute monarchy and conservatism seemingly left little prospects for any of his descendants.Children
Match-maker
Her husband died on
14 November ,1866 while none of their children had reached adulthood. Adelaide would spend the next several decades attempting to secure prominent marriages for her children.As a result of her largely successful attempts, her grandchildren would include (among others)
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza , Elisabeth Amalia, Princess of Liechtenstein, Elisabeth, Queen of the Belgians, Marie Gabrielle, Crown Princess of Bavaria,Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg ,Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg ,Antoinette, Crown Princess of Bavaria ,Xavier, Duke of Parma , Zita, Empress of Austria andFelix of Bourbon-Parma . Many of her descendants have inherited her longevity.External links
* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/wittel/wittel18.html#AC A listing of descendants of the Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort family]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p10252.htm#i102517 Her profile in Peerage.com]
* [http://www.geocities.com/henrivanoene/genportugal2.html A list of her descendants]ources
*"The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy" by C. Arnold McNaughton.
*"Burke's Royal Families of the World", edited by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd.
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