Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach sibling Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Meeting with Wilhelm
Augusta was only fifteen years old when, in 1826, she first met her future husband, Prince Wilhelm (William), who was more than fourteen years older than her. William thought the young Augusta had an "excellent personality," yet was less attractive than her older sister Marie, whom William's younger brother, Karl (Charles), had already married. Above all, it was William's father who pressed him to consider Augusta as a potential wife.At this time, William was in love with the Polish Princess Elisa Radziwill. The Crown Prince at the time was William's elder brother, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (later King Frederick William IV). He and his wife Elisabeth Ludovika had been married three years and had no children. Although it was not anticipated that they would remain childless (which turned out to be the case), the court did expect that William, as heir presumptive to the throne, should make a dynastic marriage and produce further heirs.King Frederick William III was indulgent of the relationship between his son William and Elisa, but the Prussian court had discovered that her ancestors had purchased their princely title from Emperor Maximilian I, and she was not deemed noble enough to marry a potential King of Prussia. Ironically, Crown Princess Elisabeth Ludovika, who as a Bavarian princess was considered to be of correct rank, counted both Bogusław Radziwiłł and Janusz Radziwiłł among her ancestors, albeit through female descent.
It was suggested by some courtiers that if Eliza Radziwill was adopted by a family of adequate rank, then a marriage with Prince William was possible. In 1824, the Prussians turned to the childless Alexander I of Russia to adopt Elisa, but the Russian Tsar declined. The second adoption plan by Elisa's uncle, Prince Augustus of Prussia, likewise failed because the responsible committee considered that adoption does not change "the blood." Another factor was the Mecklenburg relations of the deceased Queen Louise's influence in the German and Russian courts (she was not fond of Elisa's father).
Thus, in June 1826, William's father felt forced to demand the renunciation of a potential marriage to Elisa. Thus, William spent the next few months looking for a more suitable bride, but did not relinquish his emotional ties to Elisa. Eventually, William asked for Augusta's hand in marriage on 29 August (in writing and through the intervention of his father). Augusta agreed and on 25 October 1828, they were engaged.
Historian Karin Feuerstein-Prasser has pointed out on the basis of evaluations of the correspondence between both fiancées, what different expectations William had of both marriages: He wrote to his sister Charlotte, the wife of Nicholas I of Russia, with reference to Elisa Radziwill: "One can love only once in life, really" and confessed with regard to Augusta, that "the Princess is nice and clever, but she leaves me cold." Augusta liked her future husband and hoped for a happy marriage, in the end, it was an inwardly happy marriage despite outward appearances.On 11 June 1829, William married his fiancée in the chapel of Schloss Charlottenburg.
brother or sister kin