Countess Elizabeth Augusta of Sulzbach

Elizabeth Augusta ( _de. Elisabeth Auguste) of Palatinate-Sulzbach, born January 17, 1721 in Mannheim, died August 17, 1794 in Weinheim, was the eldest granddaughter of the Palatine Elector Charles III Philip, and by her marriage with Charles IV Theodore, Electress Palatine and later Electress of Bavaria.

Elizabeth Augusta's parents were Joseph Charles of Palatinate-Sulzbach (1694-1729) and Elizabeth of Palatinate-Neuburg (1693-1728), the latter being the daughter of Elector Charles III Philip. On January 17, 1742, she married her cousin Charles Theodore of Palatinate-Sulzbach, who became Elector Palatine in 1742 and Elector of Bavaria in 1777.

The marriage was not a lucky one. Elizabeth bore only one child, a son (christened Francis Louis Joseph) on June 28, 1762, twenty years after their marriage; but the long-awaited son and heir to the Palatinate died but one day after his birth. The couple thereafter largely lived apart, each one taking lovers of their own; but divorce was never contemplated.

Elizabeth Augusta moved to her own residence of Schloss von Oggersheim, where she lived for many years. At the end of 1793, in the face of advancing French troops, Elizabeth Augusta fled to Weinheim, where she died in 1794. Her husband subsequently married, unhappily, the much younger Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este.

Bibliography

* "Lebenslust und Frömmigkeit, Kurfürst Carl Theodor zwischen Barock und Aufklärung", Handbuch ISBN 3-7917-1679-4 und Ausstellungskatalog ISBN 3-7917-1679-4
* Karl Kreuter, "Kurfüstin Elisabeth Auguste von Pfalz-Bayern 1727 - 1794", Oggersheim 1919