Auguste Maria, Grand Duchess of Schöffer

## Princess Augusta

Grand Duchess of Schöffer

**Princess Augusta Mary of Corden** (Augusta Antonia Mary Alexandra; 7 November 1861 - 10 July 1930), was an Escoffierese princess by birth and **Grand Duchess of Schöffer** by marriage as the wife of Johann Leopold II, Grand Duke of Schöffer. The second child and eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Corden, she grew up in the Royal Palace of Bloua alongside her siblings and cousin, the heir to the throne.

> When I first met Johann, I knew we would be perfect for each other. And I was more than right!
>
> Auguste telling her story with her husband to her grandchildren

## Biography

**Augusta Mary** was born at the Royal Palace of Bloua on 7 November 1861, the daughter of Augustus, Duke of Corden and his wife Antonia, Duchess of Corden. She was named after her father and mother.

Augusta was particularly close throughout her whole life to her first cousin, the future Queen Charlotte of Escoffier.

## Marriage and issue

In 1886, when she was twenty four, Augusta married Johann Leopold II, Grand Duke of Schöffer, who was ten years older than her. Augusta and Johannn Leopold had four children, all of whom lived to adulthood:

* Johann Leopold III, Grand Duke of Schöffer (13 June 1889 - 24 October 1959), who wed Archduchess Maria Ludovika of Haimsner, daughter of Maximilian III of Haimsner, and had issue.
* Princess Viktoria (24 September 1892 - 6 May 1931), who wed Prince Alessandro, Duke of Saletro, third son of Piero IV of Cantenaro, and had issue.
* Prince Ludwig (2 August 1894 - 20 March 1976), who wed his first cousin Princess Amalia of Schöffer, and had issue.
* Princess Maria Theresa (11 October 1900 - 27 April 1977), who wed her first cousin Prince Maximilian of Schöffer, and had issue.

The marriage was an arrangement between the families, but they did know each other as his mother, Grand Duchess Viktoria, was the sister of Augusta’s aunt by marriage Queen Sophia of Escoffier, and not just that, the sisters both shared a first cousin through their aunt by their mother’s side, Infante Henrique Carlos of Luzemar, who had married Augusta’s aunt, the sister of her father, Princess Wilhelmina of Escoffier.

The idea of the set up began with Johann Leopold himself, during a visit to Escoffier in the summer of 1884, Augusta was twenty two and Johann thirty three. Augusta was putted as his companion throughout his visit and, by the end, he had being charmed by her. They exchanged letters for more than a year before he officially proposed to her to her father in November 1885. They married in May 1886 and had a happy life together, and in letters and diaries it is shown that they both loved each other and that Johann was faithful and devoted to his wife.

## Later life

The Schöfferian court was busy and loud, and it took some time for Augusta to get used to it. She grew up in a mourning court during her childhood as her aunt, the Queen, lost four of her five children to many different reasons, and even after the last death, Crown Prince William, in 1867, she didn’t like to throw balls or anything similar to it. Her mother, Antonia, used to tell her how the Asterian court was, the big ball rooms and gowns, but she could only dream about those while Sophia was still the Queen in Escoffier.

After a couple months of her wedding and settling down in Schöffer, Augusta decided to take some charity works under her name, and, alongside her sisters-in-law, Barbara and Franziska, whom were still unmarried, she helped hospitals, schools and even adopted orphans that had lost their parents for different reasons and paid for all their needs until they reached maturity.

Augusta was very liked in Schöffer and people used to bring her presents every day, she enjoyed walking at the part by herself, with no guards, and to talk with commoners as one of their one. Many times she even brought her daughters with her. The fact she knew german since prior to her marriage to Johann helped her a lot with the changes in her life also.

## Death

Augusta died in 10 July 1930, at 68, in Schloss Leopoldshof, the castle of the grand ducal family, and was buried in the Royal Cript, at Davensberg.

## Titles and Styles

* 7 November 1861 - 28 May 1886: *Her Royal Highness* The Princess Augusta of Corden
* 28 May 1886 - 9 April 1893: *Her Grand Ducal Highness* The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Schöffer
* 9 April 1893 - 11 October 1919: *Her Royal Highness* The Grand Duchess of Schöffer
* 11 October 1919 - 10 July 1930: *Her Royal Highness* The Dowager Grand Duchess of Schöffer